A suburb of Vilnius

The graphic artist and painter Adolf Popławski (1907–1982) attended the Sigismund Augustus Gymnasium in Vilnius, and studied painting at Stephen Báthory University. In 1935, he began to teach at a gymnasium in Lida, but he returned often to his native town, and was an active participant in the activities of young artists. He produced expressive engravings on Vilnius themes, with strong contrasts between black and white. He experimented, for example, by representing his subjects in an unusual way, from a bird’s-eye view, or just by fantasising. This can be said of the woodcut A suburb of Vilnius, where the painter seems to be indulging in a guessing game with the observer. He is not interested in exact topography, but more in the dual nature of the city, the contrast between the wooden streets of the suburbs and a mansion built on the hill, the hierarchical encounter between lower and upper, rural and urban, the poor city and the wealthy city.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė
Expositions: “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)

The graphic artist and painter Adolf Popławski (1907–1982) attended the Sigismund Augustus Gymnasium in Vilnius, and studied painting at Stephen Báthory University. In 1935, he began to teach at a gymnasium in Lida, but he returned often to his native town, and was an active participant in the activities of young artists. He produced expressive engravings on Vilnius themes, with strong contrasts between black and white. He experimented, for example, by representing his subjects in an unusual way, from a bird’s-eye view, or just by fantasising. This can be said of the woodcut A suburb of Vilnius, where the painter seems to be indulging in a guessing game with the observer. He is not interested in exact topography, but more in the dual nature of the city, the contrast between the wooden streets of the suburbs and a mansion built on the hill, the hierarchical encounter between lower and upper, rural and urban, the poor city and the wealthy city.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė
Expositions: “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)