{"id":24886,"date":"2026-03-10T14:58:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/nacionaline-dailes-galerija\/parodos\/virgilijus-sonta-the-answer-my-friend-is-blowin-in-the-wind\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T14:58:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:58:17","slug":"virgilijus-sonta-the-answer-my-friend-is-blowin-in-the-wind","status":"publish","type":"paroda","link":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/national-gallery-of-art\/exhibitions\/virgilijus-sonta-the-answer-my-friend-is-blowin-in-the-wind\/","title":{"rendered":"Virgilijus \u0160onta: The answer, my friend, is blowin\u2019 in the wind"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Gallery of Art of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, in collaboration with the artist’s family and the Kaunas Photography Gallery, is proud to present the retrospective exhibition of the oeuvre of Lithuanian photographer Virgilijus \u0160onta (1952-1992). The exhibition “Virgilijus \u0160onta: The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind” has been curated by Margarita Matulyt\u0117 and Gintaras \u010cesonis, who have arranged a selection of more than 200 of the artist’s works, complemented by biographical documents that provide insight into the artist’s enigmatic yet exceptionally sensitive and dramatic personality.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe answer, my friend, is blowin\u2019 in the wind\u201d, so goes the chorus of Bob Dylan\u2019s 1962 song, Blowin\u2019 in the Wind. Earning popularity for the existential questions it raised, the song became the hymn among those around the world fighting for civil rights, becoming as memorable as Martin Luther King Junior\u2019s \u201cI have a dream\u201d speech to the American nation, or the rallying cry from our 1972 anti-Soviet protests in memory of Romas Kalanta \u2013 \u201cLaisv\u0119 Lietuvai!\u201d [Freedom for Lithuania].<\/p>\n

Photographer Virgilijus \u0160onta (1952\u20131992) lived in a society with social \u201cnorms\u201d dictated by the primitive and brutal Soviet authorities. The artist examined everyday life, measuring his resilience to the system and fluidity within it, testing the sustainability of the \u201cwalls\u201d that had been built. In his life he had to straddle the structural provisions set down by institutions and his own personal choices, to find his way between the pressure exerted by the repressive regime and his search for inner freedom. The system led to \u0160onta\u2019s reticence, self-silencing and secrecy, resulting in his brief albeit stormy and tragic fate (he was murdered aged 40). However, the photographer left behind an enormous legacy. His work expresses itself through melancholic moods, a sense of wonderment in the human being, an archaic connection to nature, an eccentric relationship with his surroundings, experimentation in art and the sensitive aesthetic of photography. It is paradoxical, unpredictable, enigmatic, brilliant.<\/p>\n

Encoded in this exhibition are the artist\u2019s key creative and biographical trajectories: his analogue photographic work (Ag), studies and the beginning of his creative expression at the Kaunas Polytechnic Institute (KPI), involvement in the activities of the Lithuanian Society of Art Photography (LFMD), the sinister shadow of the KGB that consumed his life (KGB), his hidden identity (LGBTQ+), American citizenship and journeys to \u201chis\u201d land (USA). Here, as in the artist\u2019s life, there are many secrets, riddles, references hidden \u201cbetween the lines\u201d and the questions that arose along the way, the answers to which are blowin\u2019 in the wind.<\/p>\n

Curators:<\/strong> Margarita Matulyt\u0117, Gintaras \u010cesonis\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Architect<\/strong>: Gabriel\u0117 \u010cerniavskaja\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Graphic designer<\/strong>: Ugn\u0117 Bal\u010di\u016bnait\u0117\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coordinator<\/strong>: Giedrius Gulbinas\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Producing architect<\/strong>: Mindaugas Reklaitis\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Copyediting<\/strong>: Ieva Puluikien\u0117\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Translation<\/strong>: Albina Strunga<\/p>\n

Exhibits were loaned by:<\/strong> Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuanian Central State Archives, Lithuanian Photograpers Association, Lithuanian Special Archives, \u0160iauliai Au\u0161ra Museum, Migl\u0117 \u0160ontait\u0117-Petkevi\u010dien\u0117 and Vidonija \u0160ontien\u0117, Romualdas Po\u017eerskis, Arvydas \u017dalpys<\/p>\n

Exhibition organiser<\/strong>: LNMA National Gallery of Art<\/p>\n

Partner:<\/strong> Kaunas Photography Gallery<\/p>\n

Project financed by<\/strong> the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania<\/p>\n

Media partner:<\/strong> LRT<\/p>\n

Sponsor<\/strong>: Exterus:Fundermax<\/p>\n

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