Op Art Composition

Op Art Composition by Vladislovas Žilius exemplifies the fluid exchange of artistic ideas during the Cold War. Artistic developments in the United States reached Lithuanian artists via Polish and Czech art magazines, through literature brought secretly by Lithuanians from abroad, from Western publications received by design and architecture libraries, and by other channels. From the late 1960s, Žilius incorporated stylistic elements of Pop Art, psychedelic art and Optical Art widely and more boldly into his prints, posters and book illustrations. His dynamic energetic compositions, and bright colour palettes, seemed refreshing and captivating to many readers of the literary tales by Emilija Liegutė and Mykolas Sluckis. Children and adults were enchanted by the intense flow of colours, iridescent tree trunks, and the magical, irrational worlds that his art evoked. However, Žilius faced public censure for producing non-conformist art, culminating in his dismissal as head artist at Mintis publishers in 1974.

Text author Laura Petrauskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album ARTISTS ON THE MOVE (2025). Compiler and text author Laura Petrauskaitė
Expositions: "Free and Unfree. Lithuanian Art between 1945 and 1990", 9 September 2021 – 30 April 2022, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė. "Op Art Reflections", 25 August 2022 – 19 February 2023, MO Museum Vilnius. Curator of the exhibition Deima Žuklytė-Gasperaitienė.
© VŠĮ „Lietuvos dailės fondas“

Op Art Composition by Vladislovas Žilius exemplifies the fluid exchange of artistic ideas during the Cold War. Artistic developments in the United States reached Lithuanian artists via Polish and Czech art magazines, through literature brought secretly by Lithuanians from abroad, from Western publications received by design and architecture libraries, and by other channels. From the late 1960s, Žilius incorporated stylistic elements of Pop Art, psychedelic art and Optical Art widely and more boldly into his prints, posters and book illustrations. His dynamic energetic compositions, and bright colour palettes, seemed refreshing and captivating to many readers of the literary tales by Emilija Liegutė and Mykolas Sluckis. Children and adults were enchanted by the intense flow of colours, iridescent tree trunks, and the magical, irrational worlds that his art evoked. However, Žilius faced public censure for producing non-conformist art, culminating in his dismissal as head artist at Mintis publishers in 1974.

Text author Laura Petrauskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album ARTISTS ON THE MOVE (2025). Compiler and text author Laura Petrauskaitė
Expositions: "Free and Unfree. Lithuanian Art between 1945 and 1990", 9 September 2021 – 30 April 2022, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė. "Op Art Reflections", 25 August 2022 – 19 February 2023, MO Museum Vilnius. Curator of the exhibition Deima Žuklytė-Gasperaitienė.
© VŠĮ „Lietuvos dailės fondas“