On Friday July 1, at 6 pm, the exhibition “Arbit Blatas. The Return to his Homeland” opens at the National Gallery of Art (Konstitucijos ave. 22, Vilnius). The exhibition presents a collection of work by the outstanding Lithuanian-Jewish artist Arbit Blatas, donated to Lithuania by the artist’s widow Mme Regina Resnik Blatas.
A PRESS CONFERENCE will take place on Wednesday June 29, at 11 am, in the Auditorium of the National Gallery of Art. Speakers include: a representative from the Blatas family Mr Michael Philip Davis, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania Mr Arūnas Gelūnas, the Public Affairs Officer of The American Center in Vilnius Mr Jonathan M. Berger, the Director of the Lithuanian Art Museum Mr Romualdas Budrys, the Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Art Ms Lolita Jablonskienė, the Chairman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community Mr Simonas Alperavičius, the President and Chairman of the Board of SNORAS Bank Mr Raimondas Baranauskas, the Curator of the exhibition Ms Ilona Mažeikienė, and the artist’s close friend Mr Vilius Kavaliauskas.
In 2011, Lithuania received a generous gift, a collection of work by the outstanding Lithuanian-Jewish artist Arbit Blatas, donated by his widow Mme Regina Resnik Blatas. The arrival of this exclusive collection from New York and Venice and its presentation to the public is an event of exceptional importance for Lithuanian culture. Lithuania has now become the centre for research into and the popularisation of the creative work of this world-famous artist.
On Friday July 1, at 6 pm, the exhibition “Arbit Blatas. The Return to his Homeland”, introducing the public to the collection, opens at the National Gallery of Art in Vilnius.
Arbit Blatas (real name Neemija Arbitblatas, born in 1908 in Kaunas, died in 1999 in New York) began his artistic career in his home country, and continued it in art schools in Berlin, Dresden and Munich, where he was exposed to German Expressionism. He later lived and worked in France, Italy and the USA. Interwar Paris shaped his modern artistic philosophy. Blatas’ remarkable talent and original expressive language brought him close to the young generation of artists known as the Paris School (École de Paris). His contact with modern art and his friendly relationship with living modern classics brought out and shaped Blatas’ recognisably expressive and spontaneous artistic style
A representative of the elite of international culture, the artist was proud of his Lithuanian origins, and never forgot the Lithuanian language. Together with his wife Regina Resnik Blatas, he visited his home country in 1975 and 1988.
The collection that was donated to Lithuania shows Blatas’ versatile talent as a painter, sculptor, lithographer and set designer. It contains all his favourite genres: landscapes and cityscapes (Impressionist views of Paris, small French towns, epic Venice nocturnes); portraits (distinguished figures in the world of music and theatre: the artist’s wife Regina Resnik, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, the legendary French mime artist Marcel Marceau, and artists of Montmartre, such as Pablo Picasso, Maurice Vlaminck, Maurice Utrillo, Georgio de Chirico, Mané Katz, etc). The collection also includes Blatas’ masterly works interpreting Bertold Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera. A separate group consists of works commemorating the victims of the Holocaust. The “Holocaust Monument” is a composition of seven bronze bas-reliefs, expressive, dramatic canvases, drawings and sculptures.
The exhibition presents around 300 works by Arbit Blatas (paintings, sculptures, lithography, set designs and drawings) that cover all the periods of his artistic career. It shows his particular relation to the cities of Kaunas, Paris, New York and Venice that shaped his world-view and the character of his creative work. It also presents original works of his relating to the theatre. The exhibition is complemented by some of the artist’s personal belongings, photographs and films.
Organiser of the exhibition: the Lithuanian Art Museum. Curator: Ilona Mažeikienė.The exhibition will be on view throughout the summer, until August 28.
The return of Arbit Blatas’ work to Lithuania was supported by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Ministry of Culture. General sponsor: SNORAS Relief Fund. Partner of the project: the American Center. Sponsors: the Culture Support Fund, the Lithuanian Jewish Community, BTA Draudimas, Lietuvos Geležinkeliai, Ad Rem Movers, Art to Art, Avedus, and Erocom. Media sponsors: Lithuanian National Radio and Television, Valstybė, Lietuvos rytas, lrytas.lt.
For more information, please contact the Information Centre of the National Gallery of Art at info@ndg.lt, tel. +370 5 2122997.
Informations source: Lithuanian Art Museum
