Ilgvars Zalans

Ilgvars Zalāns is a Latvian visual artist working primarily with abstract painting and mixed media. His practice investigates borders as conditions of tension, control, and transformation rather than fixed geographical lines. Using repetitive structures, grid formations, and deliberate material disruptions, he reflects on how systems of order reveal their fragility over time.

Zalāns’ works combine vivid, often contrasting color fields with graphic elements and traces of erosion, allowing the painting to function as both an image and a physical record. His recent projects focus on border zones as spaces where political, social, and perceptual boundaries intersect, positioning abstraction as a critical tool for examining contemporary instability.

2016-2018 University of Latvia
1988 -1992 Latvian Academy of Arts
1984 – 1987 Riga Applied Art College.

2021 Gangwon Triennale 2021
Hongcheon Art Museum - Gangwon, South Korea
2021 G.ART gallery, Berlin, Germany
2015 SCOPE Miami Beach 2015 , Miami USA
2015 SCOPE Art Basel 2015 , Basel, SWITZERLAND
2013 ArtexParte II, Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA