Head of a man

Matas Menčinskas (1897–1942), a sculptor who worked in Lithuania in the interwar years, stood out clearly with his original style. He enrolled at Kaunas Art School in 1922 before the sculpture studio opened there, and soon started to look for opportunities to study abroad. He eventually went to Barcelona, Madrid and Buenos Aires, where he became interested in the work of Stepan Erzia, a sculptor of Mordovian origin, which had a direct influence on his style and on his choice of material (such as quebracho wood). Menčinskas began carving symbolic compositions and sculptures, mostly busts. Financial hardship and failing health made him return to Lithuania in 1934. His unusual pieces carved out of wood are distinguished by their technical skill and expressive power, which were untypical of local sculptors in the 1930s, who worked mainly in clay, gypsum and bronze. However, he did not avoid the influence of Art Deco either, and created figures in Neoclassical forms, as well as high-quality salon-style compositions in gypsum.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
Expositions: "A Glance at the History of Lithuanian Art from Užupis", 30 August 2018 – 1 June 2019, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Giedrė Jankevičiūtė.

Matas Menčinskas (1897–1942), a sculptor who worked in Lithuania in the interwar years, stood out clearly with his original style. He enrolled at Kaunas Art School in 1922 before the sculpture studio opened there, and soon started to look for opportunities to study abroad. He eventually went to Barcelona, Madrid and Buenos Aires, where he became interested in the work of Stepan Erzia, a sculptor of Mordovian origin, which had a direct influence on his style and on his choice of material (such as quebracho wood). Menčinskas began carving symbolic compositions and sculptures, mostly busts. Financial hardship and failing health made him return to Lithuania in 1934. His unusual pieces carved out of wood are distinguished by their technical skill and expressive power, which were untypical of local sculptors in the 1930s, who worked mainly in clay, gypsum and bronze. However, he did not avoid the influence of Art Deco either, and created figures in Neoclassical forms, as well as high-quality salon-style compositions in gypsum.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
Expositions: "A Glance at the History of Lithuanian Art from Užupis", 30 August 2018 – 1 June 2019, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Giedrė Jankevičiūtė.