Vladimir Kozin

Vladimir Kozin (17^th of September 1922 – 28^th of September 2023, Riga, Republic of Latvia) – a painter, the oldest artist in Latvia.

Vladimir Kozin was born in the village of Levenka of the Starodubsky Uyezd of Gomel governorate (now – Bryansk Oblast of RF). He studied at Vitebsk Art Academy (1937-1941), after the war – at Latvian Academy of Arts (1945-1949) where he graduated from the department of painting: final work “Herd on the Road” (adviser – Gedert Eliass).

For 50 years (1949-1989) he had been teaching painting at the Latvian Academy of Arts, was a head of the department of painting and composition (1953-1989), a docent (1953), a professor (1963), a master of arts (1993). Kozin was a mentor of many distinguished Latvian painters. He has been a member of the Union of Latvian Painters since 1950, where he was a chairman of the section of painters, a chairman of revision commission, a chairman of the bureau of the section of artists-war veterans.  

He had been participating in republican exhibitions since 1949 and in all-union exhibitions – since 1955. His personal exhibitions took place in Gulbene (1982) and Lapmežciems (1985), in Riga: at the art gallery “Nellija” (2002, 2005), retrospective exhibitions in museum “Arsenals” (2009), gallery Riga Exhibition Space (2010), at the Union of Latvian Artists (2012, 2017), at the center Joker Klubs (2014), at the gallery of classical art “Antonija” (2017), at the art gallery “Rietumu” (2019); in Bryansk – retrospective exhibition at Bryansk Art Museum (2020). He is a laureate of an award “Priznanie-2011” for the contribution into Russian culture in Latvia.

Kozin is a staunch supporter of realism in painting. In his art he managed to connect traditions of Russian art school and Latvian tone painting. Worked in almost every genre, is a master of large format figure compositions and psychological portrait, lyrical landscape and metaphysical still-life. At the beginning of his career, he also worked as a book illustrator.

More than 30 of his works are in the collection of Latvian National Art Museum, 31 painting is in the collection of Bryansk Art Museum. His works are also to be found at the collections of the Union of Latvian Artists, Art Museum of Vitebsk, Latgalian Cultural-Historical Museum in Rezekne, Jelgava Museum of History and Art, Riga Gallery of Classical Art “Antonija”, many of his paintings are kept in private collections in Latvia and other countries.

Monographs:

Vladimirs Kozins. Glezniecība. Rīga, 2020. 208 lpp.

Vladimirs Kozins. Zīmēšana. Glezniecība. Grafika. Rīga. 2021. 172 lpp.

Alexander Malnach

Vladimir Kozin. Portrait of the wife. Oil on canvas, 1990.