Biography

I was born in 1980 in Latvia - a small country of just 2 or so million inhabitants, in the North of Europe - which was at the time under Soviet occupation.

Both of my parents were computing device engineers, trained to operate strange ancient computers in a size of a room, in Soviet science institutes. I myself was a recluse dreamy child, searching for most appropriate occupation in different fields of painting school of Russian realism, by incredible Soviet animation masters, by the subtle images of my devoutly Catholic granny's religious postcards reproducing European Renaissance masters' Biblical theme paintings etc. A prospect of being one of the people able to create such powerful visual imagery was equal to a prospect of being half-god myself.

I entered maybe the most respectable art elementary school in Latvia, at the age of 10, and, guarded by the best Latvian professional artists, was pressed to paint and paint and paint, at least 5 hours a day just painting, and mom and more hours of painting with each year.

I started participating in international professional shows, events and projects since 1995 when still in school, age of 15. I've been searching and creating, making my dreamy, haunted images since then, experimenting with ways and means to depict the poetry, symbolism and magic of the everyday life of the bizarre insubstantial world we're living in.

I have exhibited and sold my work in events, shows and prestige galleries all through Europe (UK, Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Russia, Finland, Belorussia, Switzerland, etc.) as well as in several parts of US.

I still live and work in Riga.

Jana Brike