The Tolerance Centre of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum (Naugarduko St. 10/2, Vilnius) proudly presents an exhibition of artworks by a Litvak sculptor Jacques Lipchitz (1891 – 1973) titled ‘Life in Sculpture. Jacques Lipchitz – 125’ that will stay open for visitors from 1 July to 25 September 2016. The exhibition located on both floors of the Tolerance Centre presents the creative life of Jacques Lipchitz starting with his childhood and young years in the native town of Druskininkai and going down to Lipchitz’s studies and artistic environment in Paris, including his creative life in the United States of America.
The exhibition presents the artist’s lithographs (sketches for his famous sculptures), drawings, personal correspondence, documents, photographs and sculptures. Among the most significant works are Jacques Lipchitz’s sculptures brought from the George Pompidou Centre and the Museum of Jewish Art and History in Paris and representing the early Cubist period or rather the so-called Parisian period (1910-1940) of the sculptor’s creative life. It was the period when Jacques Lipchitz made friends with and learned from the best, such as Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Le Corbusier, Amedeo Modigliani, Diego Rivera, Moise Kisling and others. One of Jacques Lipchitz’s portraits by a famous French fauvist Andre Derain, including the sculptor’s portraits by other famous friends of his, serve as clear proof of his close relations with the greatest artists of the time.
When World War II broke out, Jacques Lipchitz left for the United States of America, where he also received great recognition and continued to create monumental sculptures commissioned by the state. Sculptures by Jacques Lipchitz unveiled to embellish public spaces in the USA still receive a lot of visitors. Among them are the sculptor’s works erected in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, territory of the Tweed Museum of Art in Minnesota, Columbia University campus, numerous open spaces in New York, the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and many others. Lithographs, drawings and large scale photographs of the famous sculptures created during the American period (1941 – 1973) are representative examples of Jacques Lipchitz’s creative life in America.
A part of the exhibition is devoted to the unfading connection of Jacques Lipchitz with his homeland. ‘I am a sculptor from Lithuania’. This is how Jacques Lipchitz used to introduce himself in the world’s most prestigious galleries. The artist’s unbreakable connection with his homeland is evident in his correspondence with Vladas Vildžiūnas, Vytautas Landsbergis, Neemiya Arbit-Blatas, and others. This part of the exhibition presents letters, documents and authentic family photographs of the sculptor, including view of Druskininkai dating back to the beginning of the 20th century.
The exhibition presents artworks kindly provided by French museums, including works that are part of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum’s collection. The exposition has been enriched with the artist’s works provided by the Lithuanian Expatriate Art Foundation, Lewben Art Foundation, Rolandas Valiūnas, Laurynas Jonušauskas, Lithuanian Art Museum and other private collections.
Tolerance Centre of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum is the biggest unit of the museum hosting an exposition of Litvak art, cultural history and Jewish art. The Tolerance Centre hosts numerous educational seminars, concerts, lectures and temporary exhibitions.
Curators of the exhibition: Aušra Rožankevičiūtė and Ieva Šadzevičienė.
Organiser of the exhibition: Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum.
Partners: French Institute in Lithuania, Embassy of the United States in Vilnius, Lithuanian Art Museum, Museum of Jewish Art and History and George Pompidou Centre in Paris.
Sponsors: Lithuanian Council for Culture, Lithuanian Expatriate Art Foundation, Lewben Art Foundation, Rolandas Valiūnas and law firm ValiunasEllex, VšĮ Meno fondas, VšĮ Šiaurės Jeruzalė, Laurynas Jonušauskas, UAB Apsaugos komanda.
Informational sponsors: UAB Publicum, Lithuanian National Radio and Television.
