Psalm I

Ksenija Jaroševaitė (b. 1953) is one of the most prominent Lithuanian sculptors of the latter half of the 20th century. Her work exudes a sense of restraint and quietude, and yet possesses a profound depth. ‘My ideal,’ remarked the sculptor in 2004, ‘is feeling maximally expressed in form.’ Jaroševaitė draws her inspiration from early cultures, from Romanesque and Early Medieval art, where great inner tension finds its expression in controlled, restrained forms. Faith plays an important role in shaping her life and work, particularly since the 1980s. ‘I’m keen on sharing my religious experience with others,’ she explains. ‘How to do this? I sculpt a figure and inscribe a text on it. Someone will read it, if only out of curiosity.’* In her sculptures of religious themes, she often combines figurative elements with text, thereby creating a unified whole. One such sculpture is dedicated to the psalm ‘The Greatness of the True God’, which extols the living God while condemning pagan idols. Inscribed on the base of the sculpture are the words ‘They have mouths but do not speak, eyes but do not see, they have ears but do not hear ...’ The sculpture depicts a characteristic figure by Jaroševaitė, a rounded, homely, slightly clumsy man, with his hand on his chest and head bowed in prayer, as if listening intently to God’s voice in his mind. Quietly, unassumingly stricken is a description given by art critics to Jaroševaitė’s characters. The sculpture has been shown in exhibitions such as ‘Heaven and Beyond. Works of Religious Art from the Collection of Rolandas Valiūnas and the Law Firm Valiunas Ellex’ at the Church Heritage Museum in 2016, and ‘A Glance at the History of Lithuanian Art from Užupis’ at the Lithuanian Art Centre Tartle in 2018.

Text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

* Giedrė Jankevičiūtė. Ksenija Jaroševaitė. Vilnius, „Artseria“, 2004, p. 66.

 

The work of the sculptress Ksenija Jaroševaitė is distinguished by its retrospective artistic look at ancient cultures, from early Christianity to the Middle Ages. Religious themes have prevailed in her art since the 1980s, and the temperate forms of her work are rooted in the depths of archaic cultures. The Psalms are rarely invoked as a source in art. These are old Hebrew songs with a broad content, praising or worshipping God, which were later taken up by Christians. Each Psalm is an appeal to and a conversation with God. The Book of Psalms of the Old Testament comprises a collection of around 150 Psalms (their number varied a little with time). The quotation on the base of Jaroševaitė’s sculpture reads: ‘They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear.’ It comes from the Psalm ‘The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God’, in which an animate God is glorified and pagan idols are disdained. It explains how idols are disempowered, they are the work of man’s hands, and they make everyone who trusts in them disempowered like them, and those who believe in God will always be blessed and helped by God. In Jaroševaitė’s sculpture, the wisdom of the Old Testament is conveyed by the smooth and stocky figure of a saint with his hand on his chest: the emotional Jewish song seems to be placed in the heart of the peaceful Christian saint.

Text author Dalia Vasiliūnienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album HEAVEN AND BEYOND (2016). Compiler Dalia Vasiliūnienė. Text authors Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė, THE ART OF MATERIALS. Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė
Expositions: “Heaven and Beyond. Works of religious art from the collection of Rolandas Valiūnas and the law firm Valiunas Ellex“, 31 May–24 September 2016, Church Heritage Museum, Vilnius. Curators Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė; "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.
© VŠĮ „Lietuvos dailės fondas“

Ksenija Jaroševaitė (b. 1953) is one of the most prominent Lithuanian sculptors of the latter half of the 20th century. Her work exudes a sense of restraint and quietude, and yet possesses a profound depth. ‘My ideal,’ remarked the sculptor in 2004, ‘is feeling maximally expressed in form.’ Jaroševaitė draws her inspiration from early cultures, from Romanesque and Early Medieval art, where great inner tension finds its expression in controlled, restrained forms. Faith plays an important role in shaping her life and work, particularly since the 1980s. ‘I’m keen on sharing my religious experience with others,’ she explains. ‘How to do this? I sculpt a figure and inscribe a text on it. Someone will read it, if only out of curiosity.’* In her sculptures of religious themes, she often combines figurative elements with text, thereby creating a unified whole. One such sculpture is dedicated to the psalm ‘The Greatness of the True God’, which extols the living God while condemning pagan idols. Inscribed on the base of the sculpture are the words ‘They have mouths but do not speak, eyes but do not see, they have ears but do not hear ...’ The sculpture depicts a characteristic figure by Jaroševaitė, a rounded, homely, slightly clumsy man, with his hand on his chest and head bowed in prayer, as if listening intently to God’s voice in his mind. Quietly, unassumingly stricken is a description given by art critics to Jaroševaitė’s characters. The sculpture has been shown in exhibitions such as ‘Heaven and Beyond. Works of Religious Art from the Collection of Rolandas Valiūnas and the Law Firm Valiunas Ellex’ at the Church Heritage Museum in 2016, and ‘A Glance at the History of Lithuanian Art from Užupis’ at the Lithuanian Art Centre Tartle in 2018.

Text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

* Giedrė Jankevičiūtė. Ksenija Jaroševaitė. Vilnius, „Artseria“, 2004, p. 66.

 

The work of the sculptress Ksenija Jaroševaitė is distinguished by its retrospective artistic look at ancient cultures, from early Christianity to the Middle Ages. Religious themes have prevailed in her art since the 1980s, and the temperate forms of her work are rooted in the depths of archaic cultures. The Psalms are rarely invoked as a source in art. These are old Hebrew songs with a broad content, praising or worshipping God, which were later taken up by Christians. Each Psalm is an appeal to and a conversation with God. The Book of Psalms of the Old Testament comprises a collection of around 150 Psalms (their number varied a little with time). The quotation on the base of Jaroševaitė’s sculpture reads: ‘They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear.’ It comes from the Psalm ‘The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God’, in which an animate God is glorified and pagan idols are disdained. It explains how idols are disempowered, they are the work of man’s hands, and they make everyone who trusts in them disempowered like them, and those who believe in God will always be blessed and helped by God. In Jaroševaitė’s sculpture, the wisdom of the Old Testament is conveyed by the smooth and stocky figure of a saint with his hand on his chest: the emotional Jewish song seems to be placed in the heart of the peaceful Christian saint.

Text author Dalia Vasiliūnienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album HEAVEN AND BEYOND (2016). Compiler Dalia Vasiliūnienė. Text authors Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė, THE ART OF MATERIALS. Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė
Expositions: “Heaven and Beyond. Works of religious art from the collection of Rolandas Valiūnas and the law firm Valiunas Ellex“, 31 May–24 September 2016, Church Heritage Museum, Vilnius. Curators Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė; "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.
© VŠĮ „Lietuvos dailės fondas“