The H Gallery in the trendy Marais district of Paris was fully packed, the visitors were peering over each other’s heads, trying to get a glance at the paintings by Linas Kaziulionis. In 2022, Kaziulionis became the winner of the Young Painter’s Prize, an art competition for the Baltic region. For the gallerist Hélianthe Bourdeaux-Maurin, his conspiracy theory-themed show Controller: Deconstructing the Narratives was a success: nearly all paintings were sold.
Be it Kaziulionis’ debut in Paris, the interdisciplinary artist Audra Vau’s installation in Valencia, or an exhibition of Jonas Dailidėnas’ (Julija’s father’s) paintings in Panevėžys, Lithuania – all the shows curated by Julija Dailidėnaitė-Palmeirao have a distinct style. “I aim to communicate the artistic vision and tell the world a yet another sensitive story,” says the curator. “I do all I can to transmit the artists’ ideas exactly how they see them.”
Julija does know what she is talking about. Seventeen years in the art industry have been spent curating a host of successful shows in Vilnius, Panevėžys, Riga and Warsaw, fifteen years of which went into the work on her labour of love – the Young Painter’s Prize, the international art competition for the Baltic region. Co-organised with the painter Vilmantas Marcinkevičius, YPP has brought many artists into prominence both regionally and internationally.
“Julija is a curator that always stands by the artist,” Kaziulionis told me after the show. “She shows care, support and interest in the artist even after the work on their show is over. She has a lot of experience and is willing to share it, she does it openly, from the heart.”
“I love Linas’ courageous use of painterly techniques. His creative deconstructions of conspiracy theories are witty and imaginative. The viewers found his work highly relatable and moving,” said Julija.
Curator is like a chef
I came to meet Julija in Paris, in the Jeu de Paume art centre. She and her family – a French husband, Raphael, and two children from her first marriage with a Lithuanian actor – moved to Paris a few years ago. Raphael has got two children of his own from his first marriage.
“Ours is a complex family that has to negotiate about everything, as everyone here has their own temperaments and opinions,” says Julija with a smile. “We like travelling, going to exhibitions and films, and we try to do it together.”
Julija met Raphael in Lisbon, Portugal, thanks to their mutual friends. This was love at first sight. Shortly afterward, she moved from Vilnius to Lisbon where Raphael worked at that time.
“Although Raphael works in a bank, he has an excellent taste for art, as he grew up surrounded by it. He’s a keen gallery goer, and is well-read,” says Julija. “He accompanies me during my gallery visits, speaks to the artists, and understands when I have to work overtime and sometimes miss on that precious family time.”
After having been born into the painter's family, it did not take her long to start seeing the art world as her home. “Art gives us permission to look at things differently. It frees up the imagination, awakens the emotions. And I find all that inspiring,” says Julija.
Her parents had their workshops in their house, so Julija grew up with all the creative tools conveniently at hand. “I have soon realised that I did not like my own paintings and sculptures enough, and I gave preference to appreciating and discussing the artworks of others, hence my choice to study art history,” recalls Julija.
“Both parents motivated and supported me in my passion for art. In our family, the parents have always been taking note of what their children were saying, they have always shown interest in their opinions.”
For Julija, attending the lectures by the great art historian and poet Alfonsas Andriuškevičius at the Vilnius Academy of Arts was a life-changing experience. Andriuškevičius taught students to think quickly, sharply, and courageously.
“Thanks to him, I have learned to be more daring in my thinking. I have learned how to get out of my cocoon,” says Julija. “This has led me to discover what I really want to do.”
Julija works with texts daily, but she prefers to see how the mental processes get “reified,” namely brought to completion in the form of an art exhibition. She recalls, with a smile, her first shows that involved a lot of learning in situ about how to discover the idea, create context, persuade the artist, raise the funding, find the space, work out the architecture of the show, create the catalogue, write the press release, send out invitations, and sometimes hammer the nail into a gallery wall.
Back then she was 24, married, living in Panevėžys. After the birth of her second child, she was employed by the Lithuanian Artists’ Association to work at the Gallery XX, Panevėžys. The topic of one of her first shows was the oeuvre of the avant-garde painter Aleksas Andriuškevičius – his texts, drawings, and videos. By putting on a show on such a daring subject, the young curator took risks, because the painter had been known only by a narrow circle of specialists.
She was not sure whether the artist himself would entrust her with the task of organising the show.
During the opening, the viewers’ comments about the art show being too “obscure” were a little scathing, although not unexpected. “But the viewers weren't rushing to leave, the exhibition received a good share of attention and recognition,” says Julija. “I then realised how important it is to follow my intuition no matter what. This realisation has helped me many times later in life.”
The subsequent invitations to work at the Vilnius Graphic Art Centre, Titanikas Gallery at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, and then Modern Art Centre (currently MO Museum) have opened a new chapter of her curatorial career in Vilnius. During her work in Vilnius art galleries, Julija has pinned down her artistic interests and got a better idea about the kinds of artists she would like to work with in the future.
An honest, open, respectful, pertinent, modest and therefore often underappreciated producer of a quality product is the artist type that Julija finds most interesting. “Sometimes the highly talented artists end their lives without having had any recognition from their contemporaries. It is because they remain invisible for one reason or another,” says Julija.
The artist Vigintas Stankus from Kaunas is one such case. “After his sudden death, his daughters were challenged with the task of taking care of his artworks, so they got in touch with me,” recalls Julija. She was immediately awestruck by the artist’s unique view of the world.
“His art was teeming with references to the prehistoric, aboriginal, native American art. Stankus used organic materials: soil, stone, paper, sand, wood, fabric, ash,” says Julija. “His work naturally brings one closer to nature.”
After the curator recommended the MO Museum and Lewben Art Foundation (currently Noewe Art Foundation) to acquire some of the works, Stankus got noticed by art collectors.
“The fact that the Dutch artist Saskia Boddeke and the British film director Peter Greenaway have included Stankus’ artworks for their show Why Is It Hard to Love? in MO Museum speaks for itself. The uniqueness of this artist got acknowledged by the curators internationally.”
Young up-and-coming artists are another area of her interest. “I know very well what it means to have someone who supports and believes in you,” says Julija. “I sometimes think that we are asking too much from each other in general and from budding artists in particular – we are too quick to label them, which can only hinder their efforts. Perhaps some openness would be more helpful?”
Julija recalls curating the first show by the young lawyer Imantas Selenis, who started as a hobbyist photographer. Selenis presented his work in the Art Vilnius art fair, and later in Iron Wolf, a group exhibition of Lithuanian artists in Paris.
“During the exhibition of his photography in Vilnius, I heard people say that my work was not serious, because Selenis did not have an art education and therefore was not a real artist,” says Julija. “Meanwhile I found his sense of aesthetic to be rather strong, and his solemn urban panoramas rather rich with meaning.”
The curator is certain that the new generation of digital natives finds the limitations of age and education outmoded. Showrooms, galleries, museums are looking for ways to create unique experiences that the general audience, particularly the young, would find wonderous and inspiring.
Art is now escaping from the confinement of galleries and museums, and it is often found where you least expect it. Anyone, even a literary critic or a film director, can become a curator, as long as their idea draws in the crowds.
“While I love the fact that today anyone can become a curator, I am certain that one’s long-term experience is no less important – it certainly has opened many doors for me,” says Julija. “I am like a chef: I give people what they need but change the recipe according to my intuition and experience.”
The audiences that are drawn to the shows curated by Julija are the best proof that it works.
Art has no homeland
It is lunchtime Paris. I see the art centre staff ordering food in a café. With their stylish appearance and distinctly round-rimmed glasses (or is it only a coincidence?) they stand out from the crowd. This makes me think of Ruben Östlund’s film The Square, Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals, or Ottessa Moshfegh’s book My Year of Rest and Relaxation with their portrayals of the externally attractive yet internally problematic and complicated world of art.
Why do we find it so intriguing?
“It is a world where one can turn into a celebrity overnight,” says Julija. “It is ridden with wars for recognition and influence, which can be vicious and ruthless. There are no clear rules in this complicated world, and no one can actually say what exactly is the difference between good and bad art. This can be challenging not only for those in the art game, but for the audiences too. But the risk is always appealing.”
Is the life of curators as spotless, dapper, and stylish as we imagine it? “This applies only to the lucky few, because money and power is, as everywhere else, shared by a relatively small group of people,” says Julija. “Many of us have to support ourselves with additional jobs. In this world, there is a lot of injustice, exploitation, unpaid work, but curators are no longer keeping it all to themselves anymore – perhaps their discussions will lead to necessary changes?”
It is even more difficult to get noticed in an art field as big as Paris. Here, unpaid or minimum-wage work is the prevailing normality. However, there are always opportunities to gain prominence and acquire connections.
“The city is full of mediocrities and geniuses, there are artists who are poor communicators, and there are those who have a talent for socialising. Art has no homeland, and today this rings true more than ever before. But everyone agrees that the key criterion in art is the effect it has on people, which, again, is always subjective,” says Julija.
Julija found her way into the art collector circles of Paris thanks to the connections she had acquired during her work with the Young Painter’s Prize competition.
“A few years ago, I invited Philippe Tavaud to act as the YPP jury member. He was unable to be present due to illness, but soon afterwards we met in Paris,” says the curator.
The collector introduced Julija to the gallerist H. Bourdeaux-Maurin. “Today these people are my good Parisian friends, we even meet with our entire families,” says Julija. “I always follow the rule ‘what you give is what you get’. Your attitude towards others comes back to you. I am where I am today only thanks to my own efforts and personality.”
In March 2023, the curator, after having just moved to Paris, contributed with the Menų Tiltas gallery (Vilnius) and the Embassy of Lithuania in Paris to put up the exhibition IronWolf that showcased artists from Vilnius.
On the opening night, the lofty gallery space in Marais was teeming with collectors, gallerists, and art critics. Such success was a result of continuous labour and networking. “I recall when one French art historian tallied up the number of men and women artists in the exhibition. Their count was equal,” says Julija with a smile. “Although I wasn’t even thinking about gender equality. For me, the main criterion has always been the artworks I could believe in.”
It seems that she has managed to convince everyone else too. The famous Parisian gallerist Olivier Waltman took active interest in Mykolas Sauka’s sculptures. He found them convincing.
“The gallerist was charmed by the magical world with its wondrous creatures and archaic aesthetic,” says Julija. Sauka’s solo show in the Galerie Olivier Waltman, Paris, is one of Julija’s upcoming projects this year. The show will open this autumn, as part of the Lithuanian Season in France.
Following the success of IronWolf, Audra Vau (the artist curated by Julija) has received invitations to participate in ValenciPhoto festival and OVNi video art festival in Nice.
“Audra’s video artworks, photographs and sculptures speak of what is on everyone’s mind today: the complexity of human relationships, inability to create deep emotional bonds, addiction to technology,” says Julija. “During the festivals, we have received a lot of positive feedback and attention.”
During the Lithuanian Season in France, Julija will also open another show with the works of Audra Vau, Antanas Sutkus, and Svajonė & Paulius Stanikai.
“When the gallerist Sabine Bauasli offered me to curate a photography-inspired show, I immediately thought of this specific trio, how they could represent the cycle of life: past, present, and future,” says Julija.
For her, the works of all these artists seem to relate the fleeting moments in time: in Sutkus’ photos, they are nostalgic, for Stanikas – dynamic and centripetal, while in Vau’s works they are melancholic, lingering on in the fantastic, dreamy landscapes.
“Lithuanian art is strong and interesting, Paris can certainly find something new in it,” says Julija.
Laurent Le Bon, the president of the Centre Pompidou, seems to agree. Julija was introduced to Le Bon by the gallerist H. Bourderaux-Maurin. “We started talking about Lithuania. I sensed his sincere interest, so I dared to invite him to be the chair juror at the 2023 Young Painter’s Prize. He replied, ‘Why not?’,” says Julija with a smile.
Le Bon was positively impressed by the uniqueness of Vilnius art world, he loved the architecture of Vilnius and Kaunas. Soon after Le Bon returned to France, Lithuania was visited by Florian Ebner, the chair of the department of photography at the Centre Pompidou. Antanas Sutkus’ workshop was one of the destinations of this productive visit.
To my usual closing question “What are you working on now, and what are your future plans?”, Julija ponderously replies that the answers are many. She has left the YPP project after fifteen years, and now she is eager to move in all kinds of different directions.
“I am now focused primarily on the season of Lithuanian culture in France. One of my future projects is a solo show of my mother’s work. The painter Dailidėnaitė has always been my inspiration, so I would like to put a lot of love into that show,” says Julija.
Unlike the work of the artist, curatorial work sometimes gets overlooked, but Julija likes it more for the discoveries it entails rather than the fame it brings. “When I am immersed in a project, I feel how it impacts others, how it helps the artist’s work live its life, and that is all I need to feel peace and fulfilment,” says Julija. “It satisfies my natural curiosity. What can be more important?”
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