Janis Avotinš, one of the most important Latvian contemporary artists with international renown, was born in Latvia in 1981.
He studied in Riga at the "Janis Rozentals School of Fine Art" from 1995 to 1999 and finished with a bachelor's degree. Afterwards Janis Avotinš studied painting and visual communication at the "Latvian Academy of Art" between 1999 and 2003. In 2002 Janis Avotinš studied at the Manchester University with the Erasmus exchange program. Paris (2004, "Cité international des Arts") was another stop on Janis Avotinš' path of international education.
With his highly independent, aesthetically refined painting style, Janis Avotinš is considered one of his generation's most promising artists. His style is unmistakable: In a highly atmospheric aggregation and a clearly photo-realistic approach, Janis Avotinš paints human figures in unreal surroundings. Because of the coloring, entirely reduced to black and white, his figures appear as ghost-like visions of light in front of an undefined, dark background. The aesthetic of a coarse and cloudy Photorealism calls reminiscence of faded photographs made in the technique’s early days. His pictures captivate forsakeness and fugaciousness of human existence in a striking manner.
His art has made Janis Avotinš one of today's most interesting figurative artists. International exhibitions, for instance at the Stadtgalerie Schwaz and the ‘Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst’ in Aachen in 2008, at the Contemporary Art Center Vilnius in 2010 and recently at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn in 2013 deliver proof of the young Latvian's increasing appeal.
Janis Avotinš lives and works in Riga.