1906. 19. 12. Kuldīga, Latvia – 1991. 14. 07. Salzburg, Austria
K. Neilis was born in the family of a blacksmith.
1932. graduated from the Academy of fine Arts, Figurative class with the Thesis ,,Announcements,, , under the leadership of the City of Jelgava. He was one of the initiators, who demanded from the leadership of the Figurative class dismissed J. R. Tillberg, which is not sootwetstwu the requirements of the students of that time who wanted to establish itself in the painting of his principles (anti-academic). He was the only one of the students 20 – 30 years, which V. Purvitis was invited to participate in exhibitions of the Cultural Foundation of Latvia in foreign countries ( London, Paris, Vienna, Prague and Warsaw).
After graduation he lived and worked in the city of Tukums, teacher of drawing and history of arts. In this time he actively participated in the organization of local artistic life and the founding of the Art Museum.
In painting he is interested in experimentation and new means of expression. Main ineres artist focused on light and shade, as if transparent and vibrating-free dynamics of rhythm and different textures. During this period, Nalis paints portraits, still lifes, figurative compositions and landscapes of Tukums.
1944 the artist emigrated to Austria, Salzburg.
During this period he improves the original color and free-form in the plane abrasiva the depth of space and materiality items.
Composition created from fragments, sometimes as pictogramme.
In the paintings felt the presence stilisticheski drewnianego layer, the resonance of different ages and cultural. Figures and other parts of the track so much dematerialization that learned the characteristic of the ornament. Compositions are considered to be ornamental abstraction.
K. Nelis wrote an autobiography,a mind-blowing years of painting, that give the look of a time when the artist was at the Academy of fine Arts.
Exhibition
1996. - Personal exhibition, State Museum of Arts
1987. - 80 – flight exhibition at the Art Museum of Tukums
1971. – Personal exhibition in Newark, 1970. Boston, 1968. Chicago, 1967. Cleveland, 1966. Stockholm
1956. – Austria, gallery community of artists in a casino,Mirabella, together with 6 young German artists
1942. – Latvian ar Tukums Museum
1941. – 1. exhibition of artists Latvijskoi SSR in Riga Museum
1936. – 1939. Latviskoy exhibition of Arts in Paris, London, Veen, Budapest, Kaunas, Prague, Helsinki, Krakow.
The exhibition,Mukusalas, and society.
