{"id":25402,"date":"2026-06-29T15:33:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T12:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/vytauto-kasiulio-dailes-muziejus\/renginiai\/vytautas-kasiulis-museum-of-art-opens-the-artistic-universe-of-nijole-sivickas-de-mockus-brought-from-columbia-to-lithuania\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T15:33:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T12:33:41","slug":"vytautas-kasiulis-museum-of-art-opens-the-artistic-universe-of-nijole-sivickas-de-mockus-brought-from-columbia-to-lithuania","status":"publish","type":"renginys","link":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/vytautas-kasiulis-museum-of-art\/events\/vytautas-kasiulis-museum-of-art-opens-the-artistic-universe-of-nijole-sivickas-de-mockus-brought-from-columbia-to-lithuania\/","title":{"rendered":"Vytautas Kasiulis Museum of Art opens the artistic universe of Nijol\u0117 \u0160ivickas de Mockus brought from Columbia to Lithuania"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thursday, 2nd July at 6 pm,\u00a0the Vytautas\u00a0Kasiulis\u00a0Museum of Art\u00a0(A.\u00a0Go\u0161tauto\u00a0St 1, Vilnius)\u00a0of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art opens\u00a0its new\u00a0exhibition \u201cNijol\u0117\u00a0\u0160ivickas\u00a0de Mockus.\u00a0The Universe from a Spiral\u201d.\u00a0It is\u00a0the first comprehensive Lithuanian presentation of the oeuvre by\u00a0Nijol\u0117 \u0160ivickas de Mockus brought from Columbia where the ceramic artist and sculptor built her career and name.\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Visitors will see a\u00a0portion\u00a0of the entire artist\u2019s legacy, donated to Lithuania by the artist\u2019s family\u00a0\u2013\u00a0over 200 art pieces, sculptures, paintings,\u00a0graphic\u00a0works\u00a0and drawings. The collection travelled thousands of miles from Nijol\u0117\u00a0\u0160ivickas\u2019s\u00a0studio in\u00a0Bogot\u00e1 and reached the Port of\u00a0Klaip\u0117da\u00a0early this year.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018The art by\u00a0<\/span>Nijol\u0117 \u0160ivickas de Mockus is one of the most amazing\u00a0artistic\u00a0phenomena of the Lithuanian\u00a0diaspora. Born in Lithuania,\u00a0after\u00a0a year of studies in Germany, she\u00a0created\u00a0her unique artistic\u00a0world\u00a0in Columbia,\u00a0fusing\u00a0the experience of European modernism,\u00a0the\u00a0inspiration from pre-Columbian cultures and her distinct philosophically subtle\u00a0perception\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0man and\u00a0the medium. Today it\u00a0becomes increasingly\u00a0obvious that she deserves a place not only in the history of art of Columbia, but in the history of\u00a0world\u00a0art. The exhibition presented by the Vytautas\u00a0Kasiulis\u00a0Museum of Art is\u00a0a great opportunity\u00a0to the Lithuanian audience\u00a0to rediscover this unique artist. The decision by the artist\u2019s family to donate 209 artworks by Nijol\u0117 \u0160ivickas to the Lithuanian National Museum of Art is equally\u00a0consequential\u00a0and deserves our greatest gratitude.\u00a0It is one\u00a0of\u00a0the most significant donations\u00a0made\u00a0to our collections over the recent years, which, in a symbolic way, brings the art by\u00a0<\/span>\u0160ivickas\u00a0back into the orbit of Lithuanian culture, ensuring the\u00a0accessibility\u00a0of her legacy to the\u00a0future\u00a0generations,\u00a0scholars\u00a0and all lovers of art,\u201d the director general of the LNMA Dr Ar\u016bnas\u00a0Gel\u016bnas\u00a0has stated.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018The\u00a0Vytautas\u00a0Kasiulis\u00a0Museum of Art, as a division of the LNMA dedicated to the art of the Lithuanian diaspora, takes great honour\u00a0in\u00a0presenting to the public,\u00a0the art by one of the female \u00e9migr\u00e9 artists Nijol\u0117\u00a0<\/span>\u0160ivickas de Mockus, who stands out through her visionary sensibility and expressiveness. We owe the debt of gratitude to the family of the artist for this generous present,\u2019\u00a0the director of the\u00a0<\/span>Vytautas\u00a0Kasiulis\u00a0Museum of Art of the LNMA shares her excitement.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From the banks of the\u00a0Nev\u0117\u017eis\u00a0River to the Andes\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Born in the\u202fK\u0117dainiai\u202fdistrict, near the\u202fNev\u0117\u017eis\u202fRiver,\u00a0the future artist\u00a0grew up in independent Lithuania, but her youth was marked by the events of World War II.\u00a0In 1944, as the second Soviet occupation approached, she fled to Germany with her sister\u202fAldona. There she worked in a metalworking factory, but even under difficult conditions, she never stopped drawing; she was later admitted to the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart.\u202fDuring her studies, influenced by postwar European artistic ideas and the revival of the Bauhaus tradition, she created drawings, portraits, landscapes, and her first more abstract works.\u202fWhile living in Germany,\u202fNijol\u0117\u202fmet\u00a0her future husband\u00a0Alfonsas\u202fMockus, also a\u00a0Lithuanian.\u00a0In 1950, the\u00a0family\u00a0set out on a long journey across the Atlantic.\u00a0They\u00a0settled\u00a0in Bogot\u00e1 where\u00a0\u0160ivickas\u00a0started working as an illustrator.\u00a0In 1955, her first solo exhibition, held at the National Library of Colombia, received positive\u00a0critical\u00a0reviews,\u00a0but the artist herself felt she had not yet found her own artistic voice.\u00a0In\u00a0her search\u00a0for\u00a0her\u00a0true identity, she turned to\u00a0clay \u2013 a material that would define\u202fall of\u202fher\u202fsubsequent\u202fcreative work. After being introduced to ceramic techniques by the Lithuanian artist\u202fJuozas\u202fBagdonas, she began creating distinctive sculptural forms.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After her husband\u2019s tragic death in 1966,\u202fNijol\u0117\u202ftook sole responsibility for her\u202fdaughter\u202fIsmena\u202fand son\u202fAntanas.\u00a0The \u201cAkmuO\u201d studio\u202fthat she founded\u202fbecame a significant centre\u202ffor design, crafts, and artistic creation. Over time, she turned more decisively toward the visual arts, and her\u202fcreative\u202fwork began to be dominated by organic, nature-inspired forms.\u00a0Her later years\u2019 exhibitions held in different countries, revealed a mature phase in the artist\u2019s work, in which sculptures and objects merged into spatial compositions, which the artist herself referred to as installations.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The encounter with the artist\u2019s universe created of nature-inspired forms\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In over six\u00a0decades of her creative career,\u00a0Nijol\u0117\u00a0\u0160ivickas\u00a0de Mockus gave over twenty solo exhibitions\u00a0and took part in more than a hundred group events.\u00a0Her emerging idiom was\u00a0mainly inspired\u00a0by pre-Columbian art,\u00a0over time the artist abandoned the expressionist manner of her early works, forging her own world of organic forms and symbols. Her art weaves together nature-inspired motifs \u2013\u00a0moons,\u202fgaps, riverbeds, angles,\u00a0indentations\u00a0and their interconnections in space.\u00a0\u00a0Her oeuvre is distinguished by its\u202fvisionary thinking,\u202fexpressiveness, inner freedom, a sensitive relationship with the medium, and a reflection on universal human experiences.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The artist left behind a rich legacy of drawings, paintings, sculptures, and installations that blend the cultural experiences of Lithuania, Europe, and Latin America.\u202fShe is\u00a0today regarded as one of the most important artists of Lithuanian origin in Latin America and a significant\u00a0figure\u00a0in the cultural history of the Lithuanian diaspora.\u00a0Laura Moreno Barbosa, curator of Nijol\u0117\u2019s exhibition and a scholar of her legacy,\u00a0encourages viewers to perceive her creation as a\u00a0cyclical and spiralling phenomenon:\u00a0\u2018This\u00a0exhibition\u00a0presents\u00a0the\u00a0artwork\u00a0which\u00a0have become\u00a0landmarks of the stages of Nijol\u0117\u00a0\u0160ivickas\u00a0de Mockus\u2019s\u00a0artistic path.\u00a0It\u00a0reflects the\u00a0encounter\u00a0of\u00a0different cultures\u00a0embraced by\u00a0her art. Inspired by the sensibilities of\u00a0the\u00a0indigenous American peoples,\u00a0the artist\u00a0invites on a journey of discovery,\u00a0where, reflected in fire and clay, we\u00a0rediscover our self \u2013 from the mountains to\u00a0the\u00a0plains.\u2019\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The exhibition\u00a0\u201cNijol\u0117\u00a0\u0160ivickas\u00a0de Mockus.\u00a0The Universe from a Spiral\u201d\u00a0at the Vytautas\u00a0Kasiulis\u00a0Museum of Art of the LNMA will run until 7th\u00a0February,\u00a02027. Visitors are invited to discover the universe created by the artist, where the natural rhythms, the memory of archaic cultures and\u00a0the\u00a0artist\u2019s\u00a0personal\u00a0visions are moulded together in clay and sculpture pieces,\u00a0also\u00a0captured in drawings.\u00a0Tours, education\u00a0workshops\u00a0and other events\u00a0accompanying\u00a0the exhibition will\u00a0facilitate\u00a0the familiarity with the life of Nijol\u0117\u00a0\u0160ivickas\u00a0de Mockus and\u00a0the understanding of\u00a0her art. Please visit the LNMA website and social media for\u00a0detailed\u00a0event\u00a0information.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Organiser Vytautas\u00a0Kasiulis\u00a0Museum of Art\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Supporter\u00a0Lithuanian Council for Culture\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Media Partners: Delfi, JCDecaux<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Curator Laura Moreno Barbosa<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Architect Tomas\u00a0Valentinaitis, RESH | Architecture & Design<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Designer Ula\u00a0\u0160imulynait\u0117<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Translators: Egl\u0117\u00a0Ozolin\u010di\u016bt\u0117, Aleksandra Fominait\u0117:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Copy editors: Ieva\u00a0Puluikien\u0117, Ilona\u00a0\u010ciu\u017eauskait\u0117<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Conservators: Paulius Zov\u0117, Lukas Rakauskas, Algis Vaineikis, Egl\u0117\u00a0Pi\u0161\u010dikait\u0117<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Coordinators: Ilona Ma<\/span>\u017eeikien\u0117, Birut\u0117\u00a0Pank\u016bnait\u0117<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thursday, 2nd July at 6 pm,\u00a0the Vytautas\u00a0Kasiulis\u00a0Museum of Art\u00a0(A.\u00a0Go\u0161tauto\u00a0St 1, Vilnius)\u00a0of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art opens\u00a0its new\u00a0exhibition \u201cNijol\u0117\u00a0\u0160ivickas\u00a0de Mockus.\u00a0The Universe from a Spiral\u201d.\u00a0It is\u00a0the first comprehensive Lithuanian presentation of the oeuvre by\u00a0Nijol\u0117 \u0160ivickas de Mockus brought from Columbia where the ceramic artist and sculptor built her career and name.\u00a0 \u00a0 Visitors will see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tags":[],"department":[81],"renginiu-tipas":[233],"renginio-zymos":[],"class_list":["post-25402","renginys","type-renginys","status-publish","hentry","department-vytautas-kasiulis-museum-of-art","renginiu-tipas-parodos-atidarymas"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/renginys\/25402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/renginys"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/renginys"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/renginys\/25402\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25402"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=25402"},{"taxonomy":"renginiu-tipas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/renginiu-tipas?post=25402"},{"taxonomy":"renginio-zymos","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lndm.devmerit.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/renginio-zymos?post=25402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}