The Order of the Three Stars has been awarded to artist Imants Tillers
We are proud to congratulate Imants Tillers on receiving the highest state award – the Order of the Three Stars.
In 2018, the Latvian National Museum of Art hosted a major solo exhibition by Imants Tillers, Journey to Nowhere. Tillers is often described as a “thought-provoking artist.” His works incorporate references to world culture, Western art history, 20th-century European literature and philosophy, Latvian art, and Australian Aboriginal culture. The central themes of his art include the individual, place, and identity – encompassing the destiny of the Latvian diaspora. His work challenges viewers to reflect on the complexity of today’s world.
Since the 1970s, Imants Tillers has been one of the leading contemporary artists in Australia. Born in Sydney in 1950 to a Latvian exile family, he received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Sydney (1972). His interest in contemporary art began during his student years, when he volunteered in Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s project Wrapped Coast – One Million Square Feet, Little Bay, Sydney (1969).
Tillers has represented Australia at the São Paulo Art Biennial (1975), Documenta 7 (1982), and the 42nd Venice Biennale (1986). He has held solo exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London (1988), the National Art Gallery in Wellington (1989), and the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra (2006). His international reputation was strengthened through participation in group exhibitions at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Osaka Painting Triennale (1990), and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. He has also been a regular participant in the Sydney Biennale (1979, 1986, 1988, 2006).
Tillers has received significant art awards, including prizes at the Osaka Triennale (Gold – 1993, Bronze – 1996, Silver – 2001), recognition at the Beijing Biennale (2003), and Australia’s major art award for landscape painting – the Wynne Prize (2012). In 2013, he was a finalist in the prestigious Archibald Prize.
In 2016, the Latvian National Museum of Art received two valuable gifts from Imants Tillers – the painting A Painting That Doesn’t Speak (1990) and the etching Diaspora (1997), composed of 48 parts.
