Viktor Mednis

Background

Viktor Mednis was born in 1927 in Latvia. In 1951, Mednis decided to went to live in Australia.

Education

Viktor Mednis attended the Melbourne Art Gallery School, where he studied drawing and sculpture (evening classes) under William Dargie. Later he studied at the South Australian School of Arts before working as an industrial designer and glass engraver in Adelaide.

Career

In 1966, Viktor Mednis took up painting full-time and had one-man exhibitions annually in Adelaide and other cities. He had made murals and other decorative art for city buildings, private houses, and gardens. Viktor Mednis produced murals for city buildings and established a studio and gallery in Adelaide Hills in 1971.

Also, Mednis assisted artist Stan Ostoja-Kotkowski in producing stage decor and several large murals for city buildings, such as the murals for the Nauru House in Melbourne.

Achievements

• Viktor Mednis was a talented artist. His works were exhibited at Strawberry Hill Gallery, Sydney in 1970, at White Studio Exhibition Gallery, Beaumont in 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972, and 1975, and also at his own gallery.

Works

More photos

• painting

  • Yes

    1968

  • Australian Adelaide Cathedral Scene

  • The Girl in the White Mini Skirt

  • painting

  • Figure in Landscape

    1978

  • Outback Landscape

  • Insect in blue

    1967

  • Parched Landscape

  • painting

  • painting

  • painting

Views

Viktor Mednis was predominantly influenced by the 1950s. It can be said that the 1950s were dominated by Abstract Expressionism, a form of painting that prioritized dramatic brushstrokes and explored ideas about organic nature, spirituality, and the sublime. Much of the focus was on the formal techniques of painting, and ideas of action painting were unified with the political freedom of the United States society as opposed to the strict nature of the Soviet bloc.

Membership

Mednis was a member of the Contemporary Art Society. He is also an honorary life member of the Burnside Painting Group.

• 

  Contemporary Art Society

• Honorary life membership

  Burnside Painting Group

Connections

Viktor Mednis was married to a woman named Elga. Together the couple had four children, Lia, Ivars, Mara, and David.

Spouse:

Elga Mednis

Daughter:

Lia Mednis

Daughter:

Mara

Son:

Ivars Mednis

Son:

David Mednis

colleague:

Stan Ostoja-Kotkowski

teacher:

William Dargie