115 - LATVIA [MAGAZINE]. LAIKMETS. Berlin, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4/1923. 28.4 x 21.4 cm, stapled, cover likely designed by Konrad Ubans; by Karlis ZALE and Arnold DZIRKALS.

LATVIA [MAGAZINE]. LAIKMETS. Berlin, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4/1923. 28.4 x 21.4 cm, stapled, cover likely designed by Konrad Ubans; by Karlis ZALE and Arnold DZIRKALS. Very rare. Four issues in four fascicles, complete collection. A unique issue of this extremely rare but highly significant Latvian avant-garde magazine, published in Berlin, which constitutes one of the key documents on the Latvian avant-garde and attests to Latvia’s contribution to the dynamic international art scene of 1920s Berlin. With four issues published from January through April 1923, the journal was edited by Karlis Zale (also known as Zalite and Zalit; 1888–1942) and Arnolds Dzirkals (1896–1944). Zale was a Latvian sculptor who lived and studied in Moscow and worked in Berlin from 1921 to 1923 before returning to Latvia. Zale and Dzirkals were both part of the international community of avant-garde artists active in Berlin in the early 1920s, which included Kandinsky, El Lissitzky, Puni, and Archipenko: “[In Berlin], in the early 1920s, Latvian artists were often seen participating in art exhibitions held there and organizing group exhibitions with various German avant-garde groups (for example, the ‘Riga Artists’ Group’ with the ‘November Group’). Reprinted in: - GLOBAL AVANTGARDE TYPOGRAPHY 1915–1950, p. 173, GERMANY 37 - PUBLISHING AND BOOK DESIGN IN LATVIA 1919–1940, p. 147