{"id":25313,"date":"2026-06-18T15:35:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/vilniaus-paveikslu-galerija\/renginiai\/in-the-beginning-was-the-line-a-new-exhibition-at-the-vilnius-picture-gallery\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T15:35:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:35:03","slug":"in-the-beginning-was-the-line-a-new-exhibition-at-the-vilnius-picture-gallery","status":"publish","type":"renginys","link":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/vilnius-picture-gallery\/events\/in-the-beginning-was-the-line-a-new-exhibition-at-the-vilnius-picture-gallery\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Beginning Was the Line \u2013 a new exhibition at the Vilnius Picture Gallery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tuesday, 23 June at 5 pm, the Vilnius Picture Gallery of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art opens a new exhibition\u00a0In the Beginning Was the Line. The Lithuanian National Museum\u2019s Collections: Drawings from the 18th to the 21st Century,\u00a0<\/i>a comprehensive overview of the Lithuanian drawing tradition and its development.\u00a0\u00a0<\/i>The display invites to follow\u00a0the trajectory\u00a0of\u00a0drawing\u00a0from rare 18th-century specimen to the rich academic drawing collection\u00a0by\u00a0the art departments of Vilnius University,\u00a0from\u00a0the Vilnius Drawing School and the interwar modernist period\u00a0to the second half of the 20th\u00a0century and experiments of contemporary artists.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel elated by this exhibition,\u201d Dr Aiste Bimbiryte, director of the Vilnius Picture Gallery of the LNMA,\u00a0is indeed sincerely happy.\u00a0\u201cIn the world of art, especially when\u00a0it comes to\u00a0ancient art, we are used to seeing\u00a0the final result;\u00a0rare are\u00a0the occasions when we get to experience the very process.\u00a0This is due to the fact that drawings\u00a0were\u00a0long perceived as preparatory\u00a0forms, references\u00a0for work in another medium, but not only.\u00a0Fragility and perishability of drawings also\u00a0account for the fact they are not\u00a0showed\u00a0a lot.\u00a0But it is exactly in\u00a0a\u00a0drawing\u00a0where\u00a0an\u00a0initial\u00a0artist\u2019s\u00a0perspective,\u00a0conception and development of the\u00a0idea\u00a0\u00a0get\u00a0captured.\u00a0Often times, drawings are more spontaneous and\u00a0immediate\u00a0compared to the finished work.\u00a0No surprise that foreign museums have\u00a0been\u00a0recently\u00a0presenting more exhibitions by the old masters,\u00a0on the other hand, they\u00a0show drawings and sketches by the well-known designers. This signals the growing awareness that the value of a piece of art is not solely\u00a0in\u00a0the final result: its gestation\u00a0journey\u00a0also matters.\u00a0I invite you to the exhibition \u2013 a meeting point of\u00a0looks,\u00a0ideas\u00a0and\u00a0experiment\u00a0from\u00a0over two hundred years. I believe it will present\u00a0the\u00a0drawing not only as a \u201ctransit stop\u201d,\u00a0but\u00a0as\u00a0an independent piece of art,\u00a0too,\u00a0bringing us closer to the miracle of creation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe LNMA boasts one of the largest drawings\u00a0collections in Lithuania, totaling at around 10 thousand works.\u00a0Due to their fragile nature and specific exhibition requirements,\u00a0drawings\u00a0are included\u00a0into\u00a0exhibitions\u00a0in bits and parts only.\u00a0We expect this\u00a0exhibition presenting the collections\u00a0of drawings\u00a0in the LNMA in a comprehensive manner, must be\u00a0interesting\u00a0its\u00a0viewers,\u201d Rasa\u00a0Adomaitien\u0117\u00a0and Regina\u00a0Urbonien\u0117, curators of the exhibition,\u00a0are\u00a0hopeful.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Drawing as a tool of thinking\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thematic\u00a0cross-sections\u00a0of the exhibition\u00a0establish\u00a0drawing as a universal form of artistic expression,\u00a0artist companion\u00a0at\u00a0all stages of one\u2019s career. The display starts with drawing as a method to\u00a0understand\u00a0the form, volume,\u00a0light\u00a0and proportion. Though the approach of academic practice changes over time, it\u00a0remains\u00a0an important\u00a0foundation\u00a0in the professional formation of an artist, bringing together discipline,\u00a0precision\u00a0and creative freedom. The drawings on display reflect a varying-through-epochs artists\u2019 view of the surrounding world, and their ability to recognize the aesthetic value in the mundane. Another thematic cross-section\u00a0is concerned\u00a0with the\u00a0perception\u00a0of the inner world of human\u00a0subjects. Portraits and self-portraits\u00a0render\u00a0not only a physical\u00a0likeness,\u00a0they\u00a0reflect\u00a0the\u00a0inner states of mind, self-reflection, search for identity\u00a0and creative aspirations.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides\u00a0finished drawings,\u00a0the exhibition includes\u00a0rapid\u00a0sketches\u00a0done in\u00a0a\u00a0contour\u00a0line, capturing\u00a0artists\u2019\u00a0early\u00a0ideas.\u00a0Sketches are records of the most authentic creative\u00a0episodes\u00a0\u2013\u00a0spur-of-the moment\u00a0expressions\u00a0of an idea crossing the artist\u2019s mind. They show the course of the artist\u2019s deliberation from the\u00a0very\u00a0first\u00a0lines\u00a0to other stages\u00a0leading to\u00a0a more elaborate and changing image. Sketches\u00a0often\u00a0are more\u00a0immediate\u00a0and allow space for interpretation,\u00a0also,\u00a0work for perceiver\u2019s\u00a0imagination. Finally,\u00a0drawing is presented as a tool of intellectual reflection \u2013 an independent form of art embracing ideas,\u00a0experiment\u00a0and new creative worlds. The boundaries of drawing are continuously pushed further: it is more\u00a0frequently\u00a0linked to other\u00a0forms of expression\u00a0and\u00a0becomes part of projects and installations.\u00a0For the artists, it\u00a0opens\u00a0a creative space for improvisation and\u00a0experiment.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The classics of Lithuanian art\u00a0next to\u00a0contemporary artists\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The exhibition brings together the artwork by the artists who defined different epochs of Lithuanian art, giving the sense of chronological development of the drawing from the 18th century to the present day. During the process of putting the exhibition together, generous presents by the artists entered the collections of the LNMA, donated by the artists <\/span>\u017dygimantas\u00a0Augustinas, Paulius Ju\u0161ka, Rimvydas\u00a0Kepe\u017einskas, Egl\u0117\u00a0Kuckait\u0117, Birut\u0117 Stan\u010dikait\u0117, Gerardas\u00a0\u0160lektavi\u010dius\u00a0and\u00a0Skaist\u0117\u00a0Verdingyt\u0117.\u00a0<\/span>Artists\u00a0brothers Algirdas and Remigijus Gataveckai are invited guests of the exhibition. The exhibition features\u00a0their large-scale drawing in pencil, a portrait of an inmate of\u00a0an orphanage, titled\u00a0<\/span>You Are Already Looking at Me Longer Than My Parents Ever Did<\/span><\/i>\u00a0from their project<\/span>\u00a0Impact\u00a0<\/span><\/i>(2017 \u2013 2025). It took\u00a0nearly eight\u00a0years for the artists to\u00a0create the portrait.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A rich\u00a0programme\u00a0of events\u00a0accompanying\u00a0the exhibition will\u00a0facilitate\u00a0the understanding of the Lithuanian drawing tradition. It includes curator guided tours, and tours with the museum guide, open lectures on a variety of themes \u2013 from the ancient drawings to the paradoxes of contemporary works.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Visitors are invited to take part in educational events, including\u00a0an action of performative drawing.\u00a0Artists\u00a0brothers\u00a0Gataveckai, together with participants, will create once-only\u00a0collaborative\u00a0drawings titled\u00a0<\/span>Homonyms: a work based on creative practice by\u00a0Gataveckai<\/span><\/i>. Visitors of different age groups will have an opportunity to\u00a0discover\u00a0one of the oldest techniques of copying \u2013 drawing with a tracing frame. Participants of\u00a0the<\/span>\u00a0Five Minutes<\/span><\/i>\u00a0studio will be given\u00a0several minutes to\u00a0observe, select key\u00a0elements\u00a0and\u00a0render\u00a0the sitter\u2019s character. The studio\u00a0<\/span>In the Beginning\u00a0Was the Line<\/span><\/i>\u00a0will introduce the basics of drawing; participants will sample several techniques that were and still are used in art. For detailed information on these events please\u00a0go\u00a0the Vilnius Gallery of Art website and social media.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The exhibition will be\u00a0on until\u00a010 January 2027.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n