Born in Latvia in 1938, Vija Celmins and her family emigrated to the United States in 1948. Although beginning her career as an Abstract Expressionist painter, she is now best known for her intricate, monochromatic drawings of a select range of subjects. In 1966 she began to use photographs as the subject for her works, creating what she described as 'impossible images', which remind us of the complexity of the simplest things. These meticulous renderings of the surface of the ocean, expanses of desert, the night sky, or a spider's web, demonstrate her fascination with the surrounding world. They can take up to a year to complete.These works form part of a collection called ARTIST ROOMS consisting of 725 works of art formerly owned by Anthony d'Offay which will be divided into 50 rooms by 25 artists plus 10 additional works. Acquired jointly by Tate and National Galleries Scotland through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund 2008. As well as showing artistsÂ’ work in depth, the unique intention behind this acquisition is that the rooms will tour the UK, as well as being shown in NGS and Tate. ARTIST ROOMS was bought for £26,530,219 with a grant of £1 million from the Art Fund.

Provenance

Anthony d'Offay.