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Mindaugas Navakas’ (b. 1952) early bronze sculptures depict abstract forms that evoke what Alfonsas Andriuškevičius termed in 1981 ‘objects of uncertain purpose’.* Unlike many Lithuanian sculptors at the time who drew their inspiration from natural forms, Navakas often found his muse in ‘secondary nature’, man-made objects, and above all, architectural features. In this particular piece, although it is small but massive, we can discern the semblance of a gabled house with overhanging eaves. Having learnt with the guidance of Vladas Vildžiūnas, Navakas has been casting work in bronze since 1977. The expatriate sculptor Elena Gaputytė sent Vildžiūnas a practical guide to bronze casting in the 1970s, which he then translated into Lithuanian and experimented with, along with several other sculptors. Navakas’ casting work took place in the Jeruzalė district of Vilnius, where the sculptor Petras Mazūras set up an illicit foundry in a pit beneath an oak tree. Since 1980, Navakas has cast his smaller works in his studio.

Text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

* Alfonsas Andriuškevičius. Lietuvių dailė: 1975–1995. Vilnius, 1997, p. 241.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE ART OF MATERIALS. Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė
Expositions: "Free and Unfree. Lithuanian Art between 1945 and 1990", 9 September 2021 – 30 April 2022, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė.
© VŠĮ „Lietuvos dailės fondas“

Mindaugas Navakas’ (b. 1952) early bronze sculptures depict abstract forms that evoke what Alfonsas Andriuškevičius termed in 1981 ‘objects of uncertain purpose’.* Unlike many Lithuanian sculptors at the time who drew their inspiration from natural forms, Navakas often found his muse in ‘secondary nature’, man-made objects, and above all, architectural features. In this particular piece, although it is small but massive, we can discern the semblance of a gabled house with overhanging eaves. Having learnt with the guidance of Vladas Vildžiūnas, Navakas has been casting work in bronze since 1977. The expatriate sculptor Elena Gaputytė sent Vildžiūnas a practical guide to bronze casting in the 1970s, which he then translated into Lithuanian and experimented with, along with several other sculptors. Navakas’ casting work took place in the Jeruzalė district of Vilnius, where the sculptor Petras Mazūras set up an illicit foundry in a pit beneath an oak tree. Since 1980, Navakas has cast his smaller works in his studio.

Text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

* Alfonsas Andriuškevičius. Lietuvių dailė: 1975–1995. Vilnius, 1997, p. 241.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE ART OF MATERIALS. Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė
Expositions: "Free and Unfree. Lithuanian Art between 1945 and 1990", 9 September 2021 – 30 April 2022, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė.
© VŠĮ „Lietuvos dailės fondas“