July

This abstraction by Vladislovas Žilius (1939–2012) from his New York period captivates us with its exceptionally transparent pastel colours emitting a special glow. At the same time, it raises the question of how the artist managed to emigrate to the USA during the Soviet era. Žilius decided to leave after losing his job and growing increasingly unable to live under the oppression of the communist regime. Emigrating was possible thanks to the Jewish background of his wife Ida Kreingold Žilienė.

The Jewish Movement in the USSR that emerged in the 1950s alongside broader dissident activities advocated for the right to emigrate to Israel, and triggered an episodic shift in Soviet policy, opening up limited opportunities to leave the country. Between 1968 and 1976, approximately 40 per cent of Lithuania’s Jewish population emigrated, accompanied by some Lithuanians. Žilius’ family received practical and legal support from the Russian dissident Eitan Finkelstein, who had been living in Vilnius since 1971. After receiving an invitation from Ida’s brother, who had already emigrated to Israel, and overcoming the many administrative obstacles, the family finally obtained permission and left the USSR on 7 March 1976. Their journey took them by train to Vienna through Belarus, Poland and Czechoslovakia, and ultimately to Rome, where they were helped by the New York-based Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, or HIAS (Garsas, September 1976, No 7, p. 7). After a period in Western Europe, they emigrated to the United States. According to Žilius, the feeling of freedom in the USA was ‘positively intoxicating’ for anyone who was not afraid to work hard and who did not have unrealistic ambitions (cf. ‘Apie alchemiją, laisvę, įkvėpimą ir... senus inkilus. Vladislovą Žilių kalbina Jurga Ivanauskaitė’ [On Alchemy, Freedom, Inspiration and ... Old Bird-Houses. Vladislovas Žilius in Conversation with Jurga Ivanauskaitė], Respublika, 10 February 1993, p. 12).

Text author Laura Petrauskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album ARTISTS ON THE MOVE (2025). Compiler and text author Laura Petrauskaitė
© VŠĮ „Lietuvos dailės fondas“

This abstraction by Vladislovas Žilius (1939–2012) from his New York period captivates us with its exceptionally transparent pastel colours emitting a special glow. At the same time, it raises the question of how the artist managed to emigrate to the USA during the Soviet era. Žilius decided to leave after losing his job and growing increasingly unable to live under the oppression of the communist regime. Emigrating was possible thanks to the Jewish background of his wife Ida Kreingold Žilienė.

The Jewish Movement in the USSR that emerged in the 1950s alongside broader dissident activities advocated for the right to emigrate to Israel, and triggered an episodic shift in Soviet policy, opening up limited opportunities to leave the country. Between 1968 and 1976, approximately 40 per cent of Lithuania’s Jewish population emigrated, accompanied by some Lithuanians. Žilius’ family received practical and legal support from the Russian dissident Eitan Finkelstein, who had been living in Vilnius since 1971. After receiving an invitation from Ida’s brother, who had already emigrated to Israel, and overcoming the many administrative obstacles, the family finally obtained permission and left the USSR on 7 March 1976. Their journey took them by train to Vienna through Belarus, Poland and Czechoslovakia, and ultimately to Rome, where they were helped by the New York-based Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, or HIAS (Garsas, September 1976, No 7, p. 7). After a period in Western Europe, they emigrated to the United States. According to Žilius, the feeling of freedom in the USA was ‘positively intoxicating’ for anyone who was not afraid to work hard and who did not have unrealistic ambitions (cf. ‘Apie alchemiją, laisvę, įkvėpimą ir... senus inkilus. Vladislovą Žilių kalbina Jurga Ivanauskaitė’ [On Alchemy, Freedom, Inspiration and ... Old Bird-Houses. Vladislovas Žilius in Conversation with Jurga Ivanauskaitė], Respublika, 10 February 1993, p. 12).

Text author Laura Petrauskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album ARTISTS ON THE MOVE (2025). Compiler and text author Laura Petrauskaitė
© VŠĮ „Lietuvos dailės fondas“