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'The Collectible Collector. Artworks of Kazys Varnelis from private collections in Lithuania' in Kazys Varnelis House-Museum

On May 17th the exhibition ‘The Collectible Collector. Artworks of Kazys Varnelis from private collections in Lithuania' opened at Kazys Varnelis House-Museum. TARTLE lent 5 artworks for the exhibition.

How many and which of Kazys Varnelis’s works could be in private collections in Lithuania? Perhaps a collector who promised to sell a composition painted by the artist still has it? Maybe it is possible to find the early experiments of the artist in someone’s Kaunas home? Did the „Knot“ sold at the US auction actually end up in Lithuania?

The continuous asking of such questions as well as many others for a few years helped assemble the corpus of the exhibition. Having grasped the significant temporariness of private collections, it became apparent, that this aspect will become the starting point of the scenography of the works preserved in private homes for the exhibition in K. Varnelis House-Museum.

The early paintings are evidence of a gradual transition from classical compositions to historical subjects, they also obviously show the influence of Stasys Ušinskas, who taught the artist at Kaunas Art School, and even New Objectivity (In German: Neue Sachlichkeit). Additionally, large classical optical paintings from private collections are presented at the exhibition, constructing a contrasting dialogue with small works and pieces created in substantially different style. K. Varnelis’s compositions created in the 1980s are also on display in the museum. Most of the paintings are shown in the exhibition hall, some interpose into other spaces of the museum. They, as temporary guests of this place, are perfectly visible: special constructions conceived for the exhibition allowed to install them respectfully in the rooms and distinguish them from other works.

The exposition is supplemented by objects revealing the phenomenon of collecting, famous and yet unexplored routes of migration: sometimes complex and enigmatic, sometimes clear and defined, sometimes destined by anecdotal events.

Read more

On May 17th the exhibition ‘The Collectible Collector. Artworks of Kazys Varnelis from private collections in Lithuania' opened at Kazys Varnelis House-Museum. TARTLE lent 5 artworks for the exhibition.

How many and which of Kazys Varnelis’s works could be in private collections in Lithuania? Perhaps a collector who promised to sell a composition painted by the artist still has it? Maybe it is possible to find the early experiments of the artist in someone’s Kaunas home? Did the „Knot“ sold at the US auction actually end up in Lithuania?

The continuous asking of such questions as well as many others for a few years helped assemble the corpus of the exhibition. Having grasped the significant temporariness of private collections, it became apparent, that this aspect will become the starting point of the scenography of the works preserved in private homes for the exhibition in K. Varnelis House-Museum.

The early paintings are evidence of a gradual transition from classical compositions to historical subjects, they also obviously show the influence of Stasys Ušinskas, who taught the artist at Kaunas Art School, and even New Objectivity (In German: Neue Sachlichkeit). Additionally, large classical optical paintings from private collections are presented at the exhibition, constructing a contrasting dialogue with small works and pieces created in substantially different style. K. Varnelis’s compositions created in the 1980s are also on display in the museum. Most of the paintings are shown in the exhibition hall, some interpose into other spaces of the museum. They, as temporary guests of this place, are perfectly visible: special constructions conceived for the exhibition allowed to install them respectfully in the rooms and distinguish them from other works.

The exposition is supplemented by objects revealing the phenomenon of collecting, famous and yet unexplored routes of migration: sometimes complex and enigmatic, sometimes clear and defined, sometimes destined by anecdotal events.

Read more