{"id":25140,"date":"2026-05-13T09:30:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T06:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/nacionaline-dailes-galerija\/renginiai\/vsevolod-kovalevskijs-margins-miracles-at-the-national-gallery-of-art\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T09:30:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T06:30:38","slug":"vsevolod-kovalevskijs-margins-miracles-at-the-national-gallery-of-art","status":"publish","type":"renginys","link":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/national-gallery-of-art\/events\/vsevolod-kovalevskijs-margins-miracles-at-the-national-gallery-of-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Vsevolod Kovalevskij\u2019s Margins.Miracles at the National Gallery of Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

On\u00a0the\u00a022<\/span>nd<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0May,\u00a0the National Gallery of Art of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art opened\u00a0Vsevolod\u00a0Kovalevskij\u2019s\u00a0exhibition\u00a0\u2018Margins. Miracles\u2019.\u00a0This\u00a0most\u00a0recent\u00a0project by\u00a0artist\u00a0brings\u00a0together his personal archives, popular media imagery,\u00a0and\u00a0urban\u00a0memory into a spatial narrative\u00a0exploring\u00a0the LGBTQIA+ community, fear, and the right of stories to be visible.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Vilnius, London, Oslo \u2013\u00a0personal \u2018Pride\u2019 archives\u00a0become\u00a0a large-scale comic drawing\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The first Baltic Pride march in\u00a0Vilnius\u00a0in\u00a02010\u00a0serves as\u00a0a\u00a0reference\u00a0point to the exhibition\u2019s\u00a0narrative, which evolves\u00a0into a tapestry of\u00a0events personally experienced by the artist\u00a0across\u00a0Vilnius, London,\u00a0and Oslo.\u00a0Photographic\u00a0works, excerpts from media reports, drawings,\u00a0and\u00a0layers of\u00a0memory\u00a0are\u00a0woven\u00a0into a monumental comic-style\u00a0piece\u00a0covering\u00a0the\u00a0194-square-metre\u00a0perimeter\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0National Gallery of Art\u2019s exhibition space.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The artist\u2019s choice of the comic book\u00a0aesthetic\u00a0seeks\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>dissolve<\/span>\u00a0the line between dry documentary reporting and emotional experience\u00a0or\u00a0fiction.\u00a0The\u00a0comic drawing\u00a0of unorthodox scale serves\u00a0to create an all-encompassing\u00a0visual experience,\u00a0allowing\u00a0visitors to\u00a0feel\u00a0like\u00a0insiders to the story. A\u00a0triangle-shaped platform \u2013\u00a0a\u00a0key\u00a0component\u00a0of the exhibition\u00a0\u2013\u00a0evokes\u00a0the\u00a0dark history of the\u00a0symbol\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0badge\u00a0of\u00a0stigma and dehumanisation of\u00a0the\u00a0LGBTQIA+ community, used\u00a0in Nazi concentration camps to mark homosexual men. Kovalevskij performs a gesture of\u00a0symbolical\u00a0reclamation by turning\u00a0the\u00a0pink triangle,\u00a0once\u00a0a\u00a0symbol\u00a0of\u00a0oppression,\u00a0into a\u00a0platform\u00a0for\u00a0queer voices, performances,\u00a0and being together.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018When we first took part in Baltic Pride in Vilnius, simply being out on the street did not feel safe. After sixteen years, it is important to me to revisit these scenes not for the sake of nostalgia, but because they should not be\u00a0approached as\u00a0personal\u00a0memories\u00a0only. I wanted to carve out a space\u00a0for the things that used to be marginalised and\u00a0bring\u00a0them\u00a0\u2013\u00a0unapologetically \u2013\u00a0to the public eye,\u2019\u00a0Kovalevskij\u00a0says.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Following\u00a0the 2010 Baltic Pride march in Vilnius, where police outnumbered the participants and the\u00a0scandalising\u00a0acts\u00a0of\u00a0some politicians\u00a0were deeply\u00a0engraved into collective memory,\u00a0Kovalevskij\u00a0took part in the\u00a02018\u00a0Pride march in London, and\u00a0the\u00a02022\u00a0march\u00a0in Oslo.\u00a0All\u00a0of\u00a0these\u00a0occasions\u00a0were not only experiences\u00a0of\u00a0community, but\u00a0also\u00a0of provocation and\u00a0antagonism\u00a0\u2013\u00a0in Oslo, even\u00a0gunfire. The memories and\u00a0the\u00a0archives of the artist,\u00a0as\u00a0he\u00a0symbolically\u00a0revisits\u00a0these\u00a0game-changing events,\u00a0evoke the\u00a0reality\u00a0of fear\u00a0and\u00a0trauma,\u00a0as well as\u00a0solidarity and the refusal to remain silent.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The culmination of\u00a0a\u00a0mature\u00a0creative practice\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Vsevolod Kovalevskij\u202f(also known as Seva) is an artist and curator born in Vilnius,\u00a0living between Lithuania and Norway. His work encompasses moving image, installations, textiles, photography, and performed spaces. He studied at the Vilnius Academy of Arts,\u00a0Troms\u00f8\u00a0Academy of Contemporary Art, and Goldsmiths, University of London. He also\u00a0participated\u00a0in the Rupert educational programme. His work has been\u00a0exhibited\u00a0at the National Gallery of Art, the Contemporary Art Centre,\u00a0Vartai\u00a0Gallery,\u00a0Kunstnernes\u00a0Hus in Oslo,\u00a0Troms\u00f8\u00a0Kunstforening, as well as other art institutions in Lithuania and abroad. Kovalevskij was one of the initiators of the \u2018Young Poor Artists\u2019 collective and directed the project spaces\u00a0Malonioji\u00a06 and\u00a0Sod\u0173\u00a04 of the\u00a0Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists\u2019 Association in Vilnius. He also founded the mobile art space \u2018InTheCloset\u2019.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The exhibition\u00a0\u2018Margins &\u00a0Miracles\u2019\u00a0is a landmark\u00a0in\u00a0Kovalevskij\u2019s\u00a0career \u2013\u00a0the artist\u2019s\u00a0mature\u00a0artistic idiom, curatorial\u00a0mentality,\u00a0and personal story\u00a0have\u00a0come together to produce a powerfully ambitious interdisciplinary project presented\u00a0by\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0National\u00a0Gallery\u00a0of\u00a0Art<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The rights of LGBTQIA+ community in Lithuania remain subject to intense public and political debate. Homosexual relations were decriminalised in 1993, but the questions of partnership, family,\u00a0and protection from discrimination still\u00a0await a comprehensive legal settlement. Given this context, the exhibition\u00a0\u2018Margins. Miracles\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>speaks not only\u00a0to\u00a0personal experience,\u00a0but\u00a0also\u00a0to\u00a0the issues of human rights.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The exhibition\u00a0\u2018<\/span>Margins &\u00a0Miracles<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>runs\u00a0until\u00a0the\u00a013\u00a0of\u00a0September 2026 at the National Gallery of Art.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The exhibition is organised by\u202fthe\u00a0National Gallery of Art<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

of\u00a0the\u00a0Lithuanian National Museum of Art\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The artistic production is financed by\u202fthe\u00a0Lithuanian Council for Culture<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sponsor\u202fOCA<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Coordinators:\u00a0Goda\u00a0Aksamitauskait\u0117,\u00a0Giedrius\u00a0Gulbinas<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Graphic Designer\u202fUgn\u0117\u00a0Bal\u010di\u016bnait\u0117<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Exhibition Design Producer\u202fMindaugas\u00a0Reklaitis<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Copy-editor\u202fEmma Stirling<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Acknowledgements: William A. F. Bentsen,\u00a0Anouk\u00a0De\u00a0Clercq, Tomas\u00a0Kir\u0161a, Svetlana\u00a0Kovalevskaja, Erwin De\u00a0Muer, Greta\u00a0Vileikyt\u0117<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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