On 18 July the National Gallery of Art of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art (LNMA) opens its new grand exhibition Between Dawns. Acquisitions of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art. 2015-2025 that invites to look at the past decade through the eyes of the Museum. Exhibition displays what artwork have been discovered, then selected as worthwhile to preserve for the future and finally acquired.
Between 2015 and 2025, more than 22,000 works of art were added to the LNMA’s collection, including 1,791 works acquired through purchase. These figures reflect the intensive growth of the collection and the significant changes in the museum’s activities, which are increasingly shaped not only by historical memory but also by today’s current issues.
“In preparation for one of the most important exhibitions of the year, the Museum’s community has an opportunity to revisit the LNMA’s mission “to preserve the artistic heritage and to strengthen the awareness of its importance in positively transforming people’s everyday life.” The exhibition meets both aims at the same time, by publicly presenting the growth of the collection and by bringing to the fore, in an ingenuine form, the value of art. I am delighted that the constant growth of museum visitors enabled us to dedicate the Museum’s own revenue for the purchase of the most valuable artwork created by the Lithuanian artists,” Dr Arūnas Gelūnas, director general of the LNMA refers to the tendencies of acquisitions.
The exhibition showcases artwork by artists of different generations from the late 19th century to contemporary figures. The exhibition brings together the perspectives of different eras: here, contemporary Lithuanian creators, such as Eglė Budvytytė, Pakui Hardware (Neringa Černiauskaitė, Ugnius Gelguda), Lina Lapelytė and Gintaras Didžiapetris, dialogue with the artwork by the foremost figures of modernism, Kazimiera Zimblytė and Algimantas Jonas Kuras, also with the émigré artists Aleksandra Kasuba, Romas Viesulas, Neemija Arbit Blatas. More frequent visitors of the LNMA will also recognize the artwork by foreign artists exhibited in Vilnius during several past years. Some of the acquired works have entered the exhibition space for the first time – a unique opportunity to see the Museum’s latest acquisitions up close.
Between Dawns is structured along the lines of four collections of visual art – painting, graphic art, photography and sculpture, in reflection of not only the logic of the “Grand Archive”, but also of the proportions in which medium-based artwork entered the collection over the past decade.
The exhibition curators Goda Aksamitauskaitė, Giedrius Gulbinas, Egla Mikalajūnė and Aušra Trakšelytė point out that each acquired piece is not only an aesthetic object, but also a solution of a long-term significance. “The artwork acquired today are heritage of tomorrow. The exhibition is intended to communicate that the collection is not a frozen time capsule, but a living organism that responds to social context, to the shifts of the art field, even politics,” the curators discuss their concept.
Between Dawns will run until 21 September and will be accompanied by the meetings and creative workshops with the featured artists offering to experience their creative mindsets and their work process firsthand.
The atmosphere of the opening night on 18 July will be created by Big Tasty, one of the team members of the long-standing ‘Between Two Dawns’ party series. The choice is a symbolical reminder that the Museum and collection are not only history, but also a dialogue with the dynamic contemporary life.
The exhibition opens on Friday 18 July at 6 pm at the National Gallery of Art (Konstitucijos pr. 22, Vilnius). It will run until September 21.
Curators: Goda Aksamitauskaitė, Giedrius Gulbinas, Egla Mikalajūnė, Aušra Trakšelytė
Architect Mindaugas Reklaitis
Designer Ugnė Balčiūnaitė
Artists: Žygimantas Augustinas, Kristina Ališauskaitė-Volungevičė, Neemija Arbit Blatas, Milda Bartnikaitė-Spindler, Augustas Bidlauskas, Eglė Budvytytė, Marco Carloni, Inga Dargužytė, Gintaras Didžiapetris, Tatjana Diščenko, Lida Dubauskienė, Stasys Eidrigevičius, Pranas Gailius, Ugnius Gelguda, Antanas Gerlikas, Tadas Gindrėnas, David Goldblatt, Aldona Gustas, Kristina Inčiūraitė, Donatas Jankauskas (Duonis), Agnė Juodvalkytė, Patricija Jurkšaitytė, Žalias lapas (Džiugas Katinas, Gediminas Urbonas), Linas Leonas Katinas, Vytautas Kasiulis, Aleksandra Kasuba, Eglė Kuckaitė, Algimantas Jonas Kuras, Vida Krištolaitytė, Juozas Laivys, Lina Lapelytė, Dainius Liškevičius, Vitas Luckus, Mindaugas Lukošaitis, Paulius Makauskas, Marija Marcelionyė-Paliukė, Mindaugas Navakas, Audrius Novickas, Valentyn Odnoviun, Pakui Hardware (Neringa Černiauskaitė, Ugnius Gelguda), Liudas Parulskis, Lili Janina Paškauskaitė, Artūras Raila, Michael Rakowitz, Petras Repšys, Eglė Ridikaitė, Pranciškus Smuglevičius, Rosanda Sorakaitė, Jonas Staselis, Gintautas Stulgaitis, Ingryda Suokaitė, Veronika Šleivytė, Henrikas Šalkauskas, Raminta Šumskytė-Sum, Algimantas Švėgžda, Gintautas Trimakas, Gediminas Urbonas, Kazys Varnelis, Eglė Vertelkaitė, Justinas Vienožinskis, Romas Viesulas, Vytautas Viržbickas, Kazimiera Zimblytė
Exhibition organized by the National Gallery of Art of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art
Information partner JCDecaux Lietuva
Supporters: Exterus, Fundermax
