Raimonds Staprans (born 1926) has often claimed that in terms of his education, experience, and personality, he is thoroughly Latvian. He describes his paintings, however, as purely Californian. This should come as no surprise; even though Staprans was born and raised in Riga, Latvia, he has lived in Northern California for more than six decades—nearly his entire artistic career.

Staprans's paintings are based both in reality and his imagination. Fields, marinas, and architecture, all devoid of people, are composed of taut contours and bold hues. Still lifes of fruit, artist materials, and chairs often include a full prismatic spectrum. Regardless of subject matter, assertive brushwork and traces of revision remind viewers that Staprans's realities are purely paint on canvas, his subjects formal elements in his process.

In 1944, Staprans fled Latvia with his family when the Soviets advanced, settling in the Austrian village of Bad Aussee. The family then entered a displaced persons camp in French-occupied Ebenweiler, Germany, during Staprans's last year of high school. They subsequently moved to Esslingen, Germany, where Staprans entered the Esslingen Art School. Staprans and his family immigrated to the United States in 1947 and settled in Salem, Oregon.

A year later, Staprans commenced studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, earning a bachelor's degree in art and drama in 1952. (In Latvia he is today best known as a playwright.) Immediately following this training, he moved to Berkeley to attend graduate school at the University of California. Following the example of his professors, Staprans initially painted abstractions but before long turned to recognizable subject matter.

As Staprans matured, he began to imbue his subjects with greater weight and three-dimensionality. He grew increasingly interested in color relationships; he layered hues that both captivate and surprise while simultaneously retaining a basis in the natural world.

Full Spectrum: Paintings by Raimonds Staprans was organized by the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California. SJMA's presentation is organized by Jessica Yee, curatorial associate.