Beyond kolkhozes and crossless churches – exhibition looks at Lithuanian postwar art

A new exhibition at Tartle gallery in Vilnius shines a light on Lithuanian art after the Second World War.

Housed in the Tartle art gallery in Vilnius, Free and Unfree. Lithuanian Art 1945–1990 presents works created in Soviet-occupied Lithuania as well as by expat artists.

While the very first exhibits highlight the role of official propaganda and the artists’ struggle in a Soviet reality, this is not the only theme, according to curators of the exhibition.

“We’re trying not to approach this topic as a gallery of machine gunners and kolkhozers, Lenins and churches without crosses, although we could not avoid some [paintings of] tractor drivers having lunch,” says one of the curators, Dovilė Barcytė. “Of course, this is the period that is abundant with hidden symbolism, Aesopian language. We [...] invite visitors to look at a work as a puzzle of symbolic, hidden meanings.”

The exhibition contains over 80 exhibits, including paintings, sculptures and ceramic objects. The featured artists include Teresė Marija Rožanskaitė, Stasys Ušinskas, Vincentas Gečas, Vincas Kisarauskas, Mindaugas Navakas, and Robertas Antinis.

Free and Unfree. Lithuanian Art 1945–1990 at Tartle | A. Stepankevičius

“We let ourselves play and symbolically defeat communism. We have incorporated that generic Lenin as well, we laid him on his side. He is still watching, but lying on his side,” says Barcytė.

The exhibition also features Lithuanian artists who worked in other countries. Founded in 1946, the Freiburg School of Arts and Crafts gave Lithuanian expat artists a chance to establish themselves in the West.

“While artists who stayed [in Lithuania] tried to adapt or bypass the official requirements, expat artists who wanted to be popular [...] adapted to local art trends. On the other hand, there were those who made efforts to maintain their national identity.”

The exhibition in the Tartle art gallery will run until May 2022.