The exhibition organized by Kaunas Modern Art Foundation is the first retrospective of the artist’s entire body of work. Vytautas Povilaitis was a modernist painter who, more than half a century ago, attracted the gazes of Kaunas residents to the secrets of his city’s urban landscapes. He had painted more than a few portraits for art lovers and created monumental compositions for museums. The greatest interest in the painter arose in 1958 (during the dictatorship of social realism). Back then, he was one of the first artists to start painting abstractions, thus opening a new page in Lithuanian art history. Unfortunately, his creative legacy has been somewhat forgotten today.
Perhaps the biggest V. Povilaitis’ exhibition to date will feature works from M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art, Lithuanian Art Museum, Kaunas Modern Art Foundation, and other private collections. Visitors will be surprised by the diversity of painting styles employed by V. Povilaitis as well as the abundance of genres; they will be able to observe the oeuvre covering 50 years of artist’s career. One-third of the exhibition is comprised of the interactive campaign: many admirers of V. Povilaitis’ work answered a public invitation to lend their privately-owned painter’s artworks for the exhibition. Therefore, one part of the exhibition has been adjusted according to previously unpublished works that were never exhibited or featured in catalogs. It will be possible to see them for the first and, probably, the last time.
Not worried about commemorating his work, V. Povilaitis did not try to preserve his artworks. However, his friends kept memories of him constantly rushing down Laisvės alėja, Aleksotas or Panemunė Bridge to paint. The everyday journey to paint and the joy of doing it remained on the canvases. This exhibition invites to discover them and join the artist on his way to painting.
Sponsors of the exhibition:
Lietuvos kultūros taryba
Ministry of Culture (Lithuania)
Kauno laisvoji ekonominė zona – LEZ
The exhibition will be open to the public from 7 March to 7 April.