What we see first in this picture by Ričardas Povilas Vaitiekūnas (b. 1940) is two young people, a boy and a girl, hiding behind a pile of volumes. The situation is comic, but the artist’s serious intention makes us forget irony and laughter. The solemn rhythm of the brush moving in elongated horizontal strokes aids concentration too. It is not a couple of youngsters looking for privacy that stand out, but a pile of old books, and thoughts about culture outliving generations, and about time and objects that live longer than we do. People are only intrusions in this world, and do not stay long, but books survive. Once this is understood, it becomes clear why some thick volumes are piled on a table resembling an altar, and the window frame in the background is in the form of a cross. The viscous paint and the rough texture make us aware of the material embodiment of the picture.
Text author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė
Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album
OBJECTS ON SHOW (2017). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė
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