In early June, International European Art Consulting SIA (IEAC) presented two works by Düsseldorf artist Peter Krueger, created specifically for them, to Janis Zuzans, owner of the Zuzeum Art Centre in Riga, and Janis Blums, former professional basketball player. The presentation of the artworks highlights the friendship between art dealer Ernst Jockels, owner of IEAC, Janis Zuzans, philanthropist and founder-owner of Zuzeum, and Janis Blums of Riga’s basketball club VEF Riga.
Riga, June 13, 2025 – Late last week, art dealer and consultant Ernst Jockels handed over two paintings titled “Café Zuzeum Riga” and “Café Blums Family Portrait” by Düsseldorf artist Peter Krueger to Janis Zuzans and Janis Blums.
Founded in 2017 by art collector and philanthropist Janis Zuzans, the Zuzeum is located in the historical center of Riga and houses the world’s largest private collection of Latvian art, comprising nearly 30,000 works. Initially focused on Latvian art, the Zuzans Collection is the most comprehensive private collection of its kind globally. Over time, acquiring international contemporary art has become a key part of expanding the collection.
“With the donation of Peter Krueger’s ‘Café Zuzeum Riga’, we aimed to place contemporary German art into the spotlight of the museum and its curators,” said Ernst Jockels, who is internationally recognized as a specialist in German avant-garde and contemporary German art. “At the same time, the donation expresses our willingness to contribute our understanding of the global art market in order to help the Zuzeum expand its collection with relevant international works and gain the recognition it rightfully deserves on the international art scene.”
“Our goal with the acquisition of international works for the Zuzeum collection is to place Latvian art in a global context and to establish a platform for active dialogue with the international art community,” said Zuzans in appreciation of the gift. “We are pleased to be supported in the future by a renowned art consultant such as Ernst Jockels, who will help us identify and add relevant and important works by non-Latvian artists to the Zuzeum collection.”
„Wir wollen mit der Anschaffung internationaler Werke für die Sammlung Zuzeum der lettischen Kunst einen internationalen Kontext erarbeiten und eine Plattform für den aktiven Dialog mit der globalen Kunstszene aufbauen“, sagte Zuzans in Anerkennung der Bildgabe: „Wir freuen uns, in Zukunft von einem renommierten Kunst-Consultant wie Ernst Jockels unterstützt zu werden, relevante und wichtige Werke nicht-lettischer Künstler zu identifizieren und dem Fundus des Zuzeums hinzuzufügen.“
One of the paintings was created especially for Janis Blums, a former professional basketball player who won multiple national championships in Lithuania, Greece, and Kazakhstan. Blums expressed his excitement about the piece and also thanked IEAC for a €1,000 donation to VEF Riga.
An example of Zuzeum’s ambitious expansion of its artistic focus is the upcoming Erwin Wurm exhibition “How it is,” which opens on June 13, 2025, said Ernst Jockels. “‘How it is’ is one of the largest solo exhibitions of Erwin Wurm to date – and public interest is certain to reach far beyond Latvia, drawing thousands of art enthusiasts from across Europe and around the world to the Zuzeum. I am very much looking forward to the opening on Thursday – where I will see more of Wurm’s works in one place than ever before.”