Vilnius

After graduating from the Institute of Art in Vilnius, the painter and graphic artist Vincas Kisarauskas (1934–1988) began to teach at the M.K. Čiurlionis School of Art in 1965. His compositions are distinguished in the context of Soviet Lithuanian painting by their brutal geometric shapes, tragic intonation and existential themes. He also painted townscapes: Vilnius was inspired by the Užupis area. The picture is based on a horizontal rhythm, and the city appears to be chained or pinned to the ground, with the elongated and low houses of the Old Town, blank brick walls, and even the river squeezed into the mighty frame. Kisarauskas’ work, inspired by urban architecture, was influenced by tough and stern geometry, which became an essential and integral part of his style. The rich impasto painting, the thick black contours, the river, the grey houses, the red roof, and the chords of colours in the restless blue sky, all create a picture of a stoical and austere city, and sum up the drama of the history and the present state of Vilnius.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė
Expositions: “Abstraction and Expressionism - Two Traditions of Vilnius Painting”, 04 – 31 July 2009, Šv. Jono Street Gallery, Vilnius; “Vilnius. Topophilia. Views of Vilnius from the collection of the law firm Ellex Valiunas”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius. Curator Laima Laučkaitė; "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.
© LATGA, Vilnius 2024

After graduating from the Institute of Art in Vilnius, the painter and graphic artist Vincas Kisarauskas (1934–1988) began to teach at the M.K. Čiurlionis School of Art in 1965. His compositions are distinguished in the context of Soviet Lithuanian painting by their brutal geometric shapes, tragic intonation and existential themes. He also painted townscapes: Vilnius was inspired by the Užupis area. The picture is based on a horizontal rhythm, and the city appears to be chained or pinned to the ground, with the elongated and low houses of the Old Town, blank brick walls, and even the river squeezed into the mighty frame. Kisarauskas’ work, inspired by urban architecture, was influenced by tough and stern geometry, which became an essential and integral part of his style. The rich impasto painting, the thick black contours, the river, the grey houses, the red roof, and the chords of colours in the restless blue sky, all create a picture of a stoical and austere city, and sum up the drama of the history and the present state of Vilnius.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė
Expositions: “Abstraction and Expressionism - Two Traditions of Vilnius Painting”, 04 – 31 July 2009, Šv. Jono Street Gallery, Vilnius; “Vilnius. Topophilia. Views of Vilnius from the collection of the law firm Ellex Valiunas”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius. Curator Laima Laučkaitė; "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.
© LATGA, Vilnius 2024