Viesulas was born in 1918 in what was then Lithuania, within walking distance of Daugavpils. This city, in today’s Latvia, has for centuries been a fixed point surrounded by countries with fluctuating borders, imperial designs and migratory populations. In the early 20th century, the region was prone to oppressive Russification. During World War I and II the Eastern Front moved back and forth through it like a devastating and destructive tide. It was in this town in the Russian Pale of Settlement where Mark Rothko spent his childhood before escaping to the US with his family. Viesulas emigrated a generation later than Rothko to the US, where he pursued his artistic vision. A retrospective show of Viesulas’ work will be inaugurated on 7th February at the Rothko Center in Daugavpils.

Fortifications at Daugavpils, historic map