A Clown

While Leonas Vytautas Strioga (1930–2022) is recognised primarily for his sculptures with warm, textured wooden surfaces, he also explored other materials. Towards the end of his life, in collaboration with his son Aidas, he created about 50 sculptures from metal pipes: playful, constructive pieces reminiscent of characters from a story. These sculptures have less poetry and lyricism than his wooden works, showing instead a unique sense of humour. According to the sculptor’s son, this is how their collaboration unfolded: Leonas would craft a small model from wood or cardboard, which Aidas would then enlarge using metal pipes, bending, cutting and welding them. The pipes would later be aged to add character to the sculptures. Some of Strioga’s favourite themes, such as ‘To War’ and ‘Care’, reappear in these sculptures, as he sought to explore how they would unfold in a different and unusual material for him. The rest of the sculptures from this series are in Aidas Strioga’s studio and at his homestead, with some models remaining not implemented.

Text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE ART OF MATERIALS. Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė
© LATGA, Vilnius 2025

While Leonas Vytautas Strioga (1930–2022) is recognised primarily for his sculptures with warm, textured wooden surfaces, he also explored other materials. Towards the end of his life, in collaboration with his son Aidas, he created about 50 sculptures from metal pipes: playful, constructive pieces reminiscent of characters from a story. These sculptures have less poetry and lyricism than his wooden works, showing instead a unique sense of humour. According to the sculptor’s son, this is how their collaboration unfolded: Leonas would craft a small model from wood or cardboard, which Aidas would then enlarge using metal pipes, bending, cutting and welding them. The pipes would later be aged to add character to the sculptures. Some of Strioga’s favourite themes, such as ‘To War’ and ‘Care’, reappear in these sculptures, as he sought to explore how they would unfold in a different and unusual material for him. The rest of the sculptures from this series are in Aidas Strioga’s studio and at his homestead, with some models remaining not implemented.

Text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE ART OF MATERIALS. Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė
© LATGA, Vilnius 2025