Head

Matas Menčinskas (1897–1942), a sculptor who worked in Lithuania in the interwar years, stood out clearly with his original style. He enrolled at Kaunas Art School in 1922 before the sculpture studio opened there, and soon started to look for opportunities to study abroad. He eventually went to Barcelona, Madrid and Buenos Aires, where he became interested in the work of Stepan Erzia, a sculptor of Mordovian origin, which had a direct influence on his style and on his choice of material (such as quebracho wood). Menčinskas began carving symbolic compositions and sculptures, mostly busts. Financial hardship and failing health made him return to Lithuania in 1934. His unusual pieces carved out of wood are distinguished by their technical skill and expressive power, which were untypical of local sculptors in the 1930s, who worked mainly in clay, gypsum and bronze. However, he did not avoid the influence of Art Deco either, and created figures in Neoclassical forms, as well as high-quality salon-style compositions in gypsum.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Matas Menčinskas (1897–1942) occupies an important place in Lithuanian art as one of the few sculptors during the period between the wars. Born into a poor peasant family in the village of Ostampas in the Suwałki governorate of the Russian Empire, he trained as a carpenter and worked in Church art workshops in Poland and Lithuania. In 1922 he enrolled in the newly established Kaunas Art School, hoping to continue his studies abroad. Although he did not obtain a state scholarship to study in Paris, and failed to get into the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts for bureaucratic reasons, the young man did not give up, as did some of his contemporaries, but remained determined to refine his craft. In 1927, Menčinskas left for Buenos Aires, where he established himself as a professional sculptor, broke through the rigid class barriers of the time, and realised a life shaped by personal ambition rather than by birth or family expectations. His Head, a graceful portrayal of a woman carved from quebracho wood from the South American subtropical region, is the fruit of that journey. The work is a testament to Menčinskas’ artistic maturity and skill, and is undeniably worthy of admiration.

Text author Laura Petrauskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė, THE ART OF MATERIALS (2024). Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė, ARTISTS ON THE MOVE (2025). Compiler and text author Laura Petrauskaitė
Expositions: "1918-1945 / Kaunas-Vilnius", 27 August 2020 – 21 August 2021, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė; "In The Shadow of Knowledge", 5 June 2025 – 1 May 2026, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Jurgita Ludavičienė.

Matas Menčinskas (1897–1942), a sculptor who worked in Lithuania in the interwar years, stood out clearly with his original style. He enrolled at Kaunas Art School in 1922 before the sculpture studio opened there, and soon started to look for opportunities to study abroad. He eventually went to Barcelona, Madrid and Buenos Aires, where he became interested in the work of Stepan Erzia, a sculptor of Mordovian origin, which had a direct influence on his style and on his choice of material (such as quebracho wood). Menčinskas began carving symbolic compositions and sculptures, mostly busts. Financial hardship and failing health made him return to Lithuania in 1934. His unusual pieces carved out of wood are distinguished by their technical skill and expressive power, which were untypical of local sculptors in the 1930s, who worked mainly in clay, gypsum and bronze. However, he did not avoid the influence of Art Deco either, and created figures in Neoclassical forms, as well as high-quality salon-style compositions in gypsum.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Matas Menčinskas (1897–1942) occupies an important place in Lithuanian art as one of the few sculptors during the period between the wars. Born into a poor peasant family in the village of Ostampas in the Suwałki governorate of the Russian Empire, he trained as a carpenter and worked in Church art workshops in Poland and Lithuania. In 1922 he enrolled in the newly established Kaunas Art School, hoping to continue his studies abroad. Although he did not obtain a state scholarship to study in Paris, and failed to get into the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts for bureaucratic reasons, the young man did not give up, as did some of his contemporaries, but remained determined to refine his craft. In 1927, Menčinskas left for Buenos Aires, where he established himself as a professional sculptor, broke through the rigid class barriers of the time, and realised a life shaped by personal ambition rather than by birth or family expectations. His Head, a graceful portrayal of a woman carved from quebracho wood from the South American subtropical region, is the fruit of that journey. The work is a testament to Menčinskas’ artistic maturity and skill, and is undeniably worthy of admiration.

Text author Laura Petrauskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė, THE ART OF MATERIALS (2024). Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė, ARTISTS ON THE MOVE (2025). Compiler and text author Laura Petrauskaitė
Expositions: "1918-1945 / Kaunas-Vilnius", 27 August 2020 – 21 August 2021, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė; "In The Shadow of Knowledge", 5 June 2025 – 1 May 2026, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Jurgita Ludavičienė.