Heaven and Beyond. Works of Religious Art from the Collection of Rolandas Valiūnas and the Law Firm Valiunas Ellex
2016 05 24
2016 05 31 - 09 24
The exhibition “Heaven and Beyond” implies, the religious theme in art is a wide concept, embracing much more than just works representing the saints and biblical stories, or works intended for a church or for prayer. It also includes a large variety of works of art that often do not have a religious use, but contain references to the innumerable treasures of Christian culture.
The collection of Rolandas Valiūnas and the law firm Valiunas Ellex (until 2015, LAWIN) is one of the best-known and most important private art collections in Lithuania today. It consists of works of fine art, crafts, cartography and prints from various periods, related to Lithuania and with an artistic or historical value. The exhibition presents works on religious themes that reflect the rich tradition of mainly Catholic culture in Lithuanian and European art from the 16th century to the present day. The content of the exhibition was determined by the art treasures predominant in the collection, which also dictated the structure of the exhibition, allowing us to show the complexity of the religious theme in art, and a possible variety of interpretations.
The exhibition is divided into four sections: “The Liturgy”, “Private Devotion”, “Folk Art” and “Tradition and Interpretation”. In many cases, Lithuania’s religious art is anonymous, and so the exhibition has many paintings and sculptures that were created for churches and clients by unidentified artists who have passed into oblivion. However, works by famous artists (such as Franciszek Smuglewicz, Józef Peszka, Pranas Domšaitis, Vytautas Kazimieras Jonynas, Stasys Ušinskas, Augustinas Savickas, Eugenijus Varkulevičius) appear in all the groups of images on religious themes. Some of these artists worked actively and prolificallly for the Church, while others only occasionally used religious motifs. In each case, the universality of the theme, and at the same time, the canonical character of religious imagery, allows us to feel the artist’s unique relationship with Christianity and the Christian tradition. The works by carvers and self-taught painters reveal a typical rural community’s perception of the tenets of the faith and practices of devotion. Among them, the carvings by Vincas Svirskis, Augustinas Potockis, Antanas Klanius-Klanevičius and Jonas Šepetys are distinguished by their particular style.
The exhibition “Heaven and Beyond” is an attempt to represent as widely as possible the multifaceted character of the religious theme in art. This variety encourages us to think about the impact the powerful tradition of Christianity has had on European and Lithuanian culture, its contribution to art, and its many manifestations in today’s secular world.
Organisators: Church Heritage Museum, law firm "Valiunas Ellex"
Curators:Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė
Coordinators: Ieva Burbaitė, Violeta Indriūnienė, Indraja Kubilytė, Sigita Maslauskaitė-Mažylienė, Rita Pauliukevičūtė, Jurgita Semenauskienė, Birutė Valečkaitė
Architect: Ieva Cicėnaitė
Designer: Gedas Čiuželis
Sponsors: Archdiocese of Vilnius, Lithuanian Council for CultureMedia sponsors: LRT, „Veidas“, Bernardinai.lt, Clear Channel
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