Biography
Herbert Silins (1926-2001) was a Latvian painter, born in Tukums, in the family of a Latvian freedom fighter.
After graduating from school, he was drafted into the German army in 1944 and was taken prisoner by the English. In 1944, Silins arrived in Esslingen, Germany. The time in exile had been very important in his artistic journey. In 1946, he entered the Latvian Academy of Arts in Esslingen and was taught by such greats as Ludolfs Liberts, Janis Kuga, Julijs Matisons, and others. Already in the same year, he took part in an exhibition in Bad Wörishofen.
Silins has also developed his talent through self-study, by reading available art books and visiting various museums. Due to his health conditions, Silins had to stop his studies already in the 3rd year and return to Latvia in 1948. In Latvia, he acquired the position of a painter and worked for a short time in the factory "MДЃksla".
His son Karlis Silins, born in 1958, has followed his father's footsteps and also became a painter.
Herbert Silins has organized 22 solo exhibitions mainly in Latvia. The last solo exhibition took place in Moscow in 1989. In 1999 he became a lifelong scholarship holder of the State Culture Capital Foundation.
Silins died in March 2001 and was buried in his hometown, at the Mersrags cemetery.
Artistic description
Herbert Silins' painting subjects are very close to Latvian traditional identity. In his provincial landscapes, one can sense a warm and cozy attitude towards his childhood town. The expressiveness of the sea is achieved by using a rough brushstroke, which reminds one of wind gust or billowing waves. Boat sails are like sharp claws aimed towards the sky. Spring season landscapes are colored in pastel tones, giving a soothing feeling of blossom vibrating in the air. Still life paintings depict rural objects - wildflowers, pottery and fruits picked up in the orchard. Silins' paintings just radiate optimism.
He worked using oil and watercolor painting techniques. His genre was mostly landscape, especially motifs like sea, cities, and nature. Most of the lifetime Silins spent in the cities, however, his heart had always remained loyal to his rural hometown - Kurzeme. Even though the artist’s work is associated with bright colors, at the beginning of his artistic journey the chromatic spectrum was rather sombre.
Over time various tendencies and elements have diffused throughout his artwork. Nevertheless, the saturation, brightness, and vibrance have remained unaltered. The paintings of Silins fascinate with rhythm and dynamic. Some paintings reveal artist’s emotional flow, others are more of defined forms. Silins' means of artistic expression are color and stroke. Much attention is paid to the texture. The pattern of the brushstroke is strong, but at the same time sensual - it is a whole system. All in all, his paintings give an impression of a moment passing by, that had to be spread on the surface of the canvas.
Interesting facts
The many paintings of Herbert Silins, in which the high boat sails are stretched out in the evening sun, only confirm the artist's passion - sailing. All his life he was a passionate admirer of this sport and had been a member of the yacht club "Daugava" since 1958.