The Gallery participates in the exhibition “Contemporary Lithuanian Art – anew”. The exhibition will present painting, fabrics, sculptures, installations, performance and video art.
The “Contemporary Lithuanian Art – ANEW” exhibition presents works of 33 artists: paintings, textiles, sculptures, installations, performance and video art. It’s the biggest presentation of contemporary Lithuanian art in Poland so far.
“Of Lithuania, pardie!, less do we know than of China” – Adam Mickiewicz complained in 19th century Paris. Nowadays, in 21st century, we know more and more about China, but still very little – about Lithuania. Traditionally, we think of an idyllic image straight from “Pan Tadeusz”; sometimes, we remember the common 500 hundred years history of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations. And Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius. It’s not much. Since 1989, when Poland again became an independent democracy, and 1990, when Lithuania stopped being a Soviet Republic, so many changes took place in both countries that it is really worthwhile to change the traditional opinion of Lithuania in Poland and of Poland in Lithuania. And the best way to learn about each other is through culture. Anew.
Especially so, that after 2004 we’re a community again – a part of the European Union.
The “Contemporary Lithuanian Art – ANEW” exhibition is not the first presentation of Lithuanian art in Poland after 1990, it’s the fifth; but this one is the most complete and biggest one. It includes painting, sculpture, installation, textiles, photography, video art, performance, graphics art and film. Previous exhibitions, such as “Personal Time. The Art of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia” in the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw (1996) presented a certain segment: 17 painters and authors of installations; or focused only on one domain, like “Others are me” in Bunkier Sztuki in Kraków (2004), which presented video. In Municipal Gallery bwa in Bydgoszcz, we managed to balance the proportions – the classic genres, such as painting and sculpture, are presented, as well as so called cold media: photography, installation, video art. The exhibition, which had been prepared for three years, shows works of 33 artists representing all the current trends and styles in Lithuanian art. As well as the generations of artists. It’s important, as we also wanted to present the generation structure, because we believe that Lithuanian art didn’t start only after 1990.
“ANEW” is an expression of belief in painting, especially the Lithuanian painting, which is original and outstanding and – just like Polish painting – underestimated in the world. Let us hope that the exhibition in Bydgoszcz will serve a wider promotion of this phenomenon. Lithuanian textile is, together with painting, one of the strongest sides to the art of our neighbours, we can even say that Lithuania is a power in this respect. The most important international textile triennials take place in Kaunas and Vilnius; the greatest European and world stars of textile art create their works here. Let’s add great photographers and video makers of the highest level. Let’s learn about the Lithuanian art – anew.
At the latest Venice Biennial the national representation of Lithuania won the Golden Lion – the world has already noticed Lithuanians, let us notice them, too!
The “Contemporary Lithuanian Art ANEW” in the Municipal Gallery bwa in Bydgoszcz was created in cooperation with the Meno Parkas Gallery and the Kaunas Branch of the Lithuanian Artists Association, and especially with Mr. Arvydas ®alpys and Ms. Au¹ra Petro¹kiene from Vilnius.
The cooperation with the Lithuanian Centre of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Warsaw and the cultural attache, Mr. Jurgis Giedrys and Ms. Anna Szymańska was inestimable.
Patronage: The Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania, Mr. Egidijus Meilūnas
and the President of the City of Bydgoszcz, Mr. Konstanty Dombrowicz
The “Contemporary Lithuanian Art ANEW” exhibition is accompanied by an album/catalogue, devoted to the contemporary Lithuanian art, rich in illustrations, containing over 300 pages; this is the first so broad critical study of contemporary Lithuanian art in Poland. The album was published by the Municipal Gallery bwa in Bydgoszcz. It’s both in Polish and English.
The curator of the exhibition and the author of the album/catalogue on the Lithuanian art is Krzysztof Stanisławski.
Accompanying event:
July 11th, at 9pm
Special presentation of video art by August Varkalis
“The cinema without a camera” 1995-2005
2008.07.03 – 2008.08.17
