After more than fifteen years, a new exhibition of Lithuanian art from the first half of the 2025th century is being presented to visitors of the National Art Gallery of the National Museum of Art of Lithuania. The opening will take place on Wednesday, April 30, 18, at XNUMX p.m., and the event program will continue throughout the weekend.
The renewal of the permanent exhibition is a significant step not only in the history of the National Gallery of Art, which has been operating since 2009, but also in the broader strategy of the LNDM, aiming to actualize cultural heritage for the modern visitor. The creators of the exhibition reviewed the canonical story about Lithuanian art and prepared a new one, providing an opportunity to get to know the artistic life of our country in the first half of the XNUMXth century – reality, expectations and visions – in a broader historical context. The curators of the renewed exhibition are art historians Prof. Giedrė Jankevičiūtė and Gabrielė Radzevičiūtė, architect Mindaugas Reklaitis, and graphic designer Milda Šiulytė.
"The term 'permanent exhibition' sounds quite paradoxical today, because nowadays people are used to thinking more in terms of short-term projects, constantly renewing initiatives - as if nothing is 'permanent', forever, everything is constantly changing, evolving. Apparently, for similar reasons, the renewal of the exhibition of Lithuanian art from the first half of the 20th century at the National Gallery of Art was inevitable, and the process itself took a long time, because the latest research on Lithuanian art of this period was used, and authors who were previously somewhat less known to the public were included: next to the big names, less well-known, but no less interesting creators appear. The duo of art historians representing different generations of researchers - Giedrė Jankevičiūtė and Gabrielė Radzevičiūtė - invites us to experience a seemingly well-known period of our country's art history in a new way, to look at many well-known phenomena as if from a different context, from an unexpected perspective. I have no doubt that such a provocation will certainly prove interesting to our visitors!”, says Dr. Arūnas Gelūnas, Director General of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art.
Artistic visions between historical turning points
The story begins with a presentation of the legacy of artists who worked in Vilnius in the 20th century. Here, the reality of the era, artistic expectations and social contexts that influenced the development of art before and during the First World War are revealed. In other halls, visitors are invited to get to know the cultural environment that formed in the interwar period – what artists and art were cultivated by the independent state, what artistic experiments took place in the context of Europe at that time, and what tensions concerned the artists.
The exhibition is formed by works of artists of different generations – from classics to authors less known to the general public. The works presented include Gerardas Bagdonavičius, Janas Bułhakas, Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Barbora Didžiokienė, Mstislavas Dobužinskis, Adomas Galdikas, Antanas Gudaitis, Adasa Gurevič-Grodzka, Antanas Ingelevičius, Vytautas Kairiūkštis, Petras Kalpokas, Marcė Katiliūtė, Viktoras Petravičius, Moišė Ravivas-Vorobeičikas, Petras Rimša, Ferdynandas Ruszczycas, Antanas Samuolis, Domicelė Tarabildienė, Stasys Ušinskas, Antanas Žmuidzinavičius and others.
Not only paintings, sculptures or graphics are displayed, but also photography, animation, applied and book graphics. A separate segment of the long-term exhibition is an exhibition that changes every six months, which will allow us to update new themes and research, present works from other museums, collections and archives. The first thematic segment will invite you to get acquainted with the artist's perspective on forms of leisure and entertainment in interwar Lithuania. "In updating this exhibition, we aimed not only to show well-known moments in the history of Lithuanian art, but also to include voices that have sounded quieter until now. This is an invitation to take a fresh look at the history of Lithuanian art not as a finite narrative, but as an open, living and constantly expanding story," says Prof. Giedrė Jankevičiūtė.
Opening program and meetings with curators
On the opening evening of April 30, the exhibition halls will feature a live audio excerpt from the play Café existans (directed by Paulius Markevičius, composed by Jonas Narbutas) by the Tolyn Gilyn Theatre. The play was awarded the Golden Stage Cross this year, and was awarded for its uniqueness at the Vilnius International Theatre Festival Sirenos. The audio excerpt will be performed during the opening by the actors of the play: Aistė Lasytė, Viktorija Žukauskaitė, Vygandas Vadeiša and Karolis Norvilas / Šarūnas Datenis.
Those who want to learn more about new thematic sections and the behind-the-scenes process of selecting works are invited to participate in excursions with curators over the weekend: May 2 at 17.30:3 p.m. – with art historian Prof. Giedre Jankevičiūtė, and May 14 at XNUMX p.m. – with curator Gabriele Radzevičiūtė.
Openness to different visitor needs
The exhibition pays great attention to the visitor experience and accessibility. In cooperation with the Lithuanian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired, the project "Blind Date" continues, aiming to create appropriate conditions for people with visual impairments to get acquainted with the national artistic heritage.
A special corner has been set up for the gallery's youngest visitors, where children and families will be able to get acquainted with interwar children's literature, illustrations and create their own characters inspired by the aesthetics of that time. The space was created in collaboration with children's inclusion designer Ieva Šimkonytė. "The children's space was created as a bridge between historical heritage and the curiosity of a modern child. We wanted even the youngest visitors to have the opportunity to see and experience - through imagination, play and creativity. This is no less important a way to discover a connection with art from childhood," says curator Gabrielė Radzevičiūtė about the idea.
The core of the renewed exhibition consists of works stored at the National Gallery of Art, supplemented by valuable works and documentary material from various Lithuanian museums, memory institutions and private collections. “Permanent exhibitions in museums are not only a representative presentation of the collection. It is a long-term commitment not only to preserve selected works, but also to constantly think about identity, heritage and collective memory,” emphasizes Dr. Lolita Jablonskienė, Director of the National Gallery of Art.
The exhibition opening will take place on April 30 at 18 p.m. at the National Art Gallery (Konstitucijos pr. 22, Vilnius). We invite everyone – both regular gallery visitors and those who are just beginning their acquaintance with Lithuanian art – to an encounter with art history that speaks today.
