Zigmunds Priede in his exhibit “Zigmunds Priede: Aggregates of Time” at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College, May 5 – Sept. 25, 2022 (photo by EG Schempf)
The master printmaker, beloved teacher and influential mentor was a force at JCCC for more than 20 years
Born in Riga, Latvia, master printmaker and arts educator Zigmunds Priede left behind an indelible mark on the lives of those who knew him and experienced his body of work.
Before World War II, Priede’s mother and her children moved from Latvia bound for Poland. As Germany and the Soviet Union fought for control of Eastern Europe, Priede’s father sided with Germany to defend their Latvian homeland. Priede and his family lived six years in a West German refugee camp before emigrating to Minnesota. Raised in Minneapolis, Priede drew illustrations for his high school yearbook and contemplated a career in commercial art.
A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Priede honed his printmaking craft at Universal Limited Art Editions in New York. He collaborated with artistic peers and giants like Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. His career as a printmaking professor at the University of Minnesota spanned 1964 to 1978. Priede taught as a professor of art at Johnson County Community College for more than 20 years before retiring in 2013.
“Zig influenced and inspired innumerable students. He was a beloved teacher,” said Bruce Hartman, founding executive director and chief curator of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (retired). “Each year, as Christmas approached, many of us eagerly awaited one of Zig’s handmade cards. They were always treasured gifts!”
“We are especially grateful for Priede’s profound influence on the JCCC campus art collection, having established the Campus Art Project Committee during the college’s infancy,” wrote Dr. Allison C. Smith, art history and humanities professor and chair, in a statement for JCCC. “Zig was a respected faculty member in the JCCC Fine Arts program, mentoring a number of students who have gone on to achieve national and international acclaim.”
The 2022 exhibition, “Zigmunds Priede: Aggregates of Time,” at the Nerman Museum marked the 60th anniversary of Priede’s move to New York. Priede explored his painful family history etched by war and migration. His works incorporated lithography, paper collage, acrylic and watercolor. Priede’s work layered biographical references and haunting remnants expressed through symbolism, representation and abstraction, inviting interpretation of his memories filtered by time and distance.
On the occasion of his exhibit “Signifiers of Memory,” a visual memoir of his youth exhibited in 2019 at the Kansas City Artists Coalition, Priede observed, “Life is too short to dwell on difficult things. You’ve got to take advantage of the time you’ve got and do the best you can with the time you have left.”
