It is curated by LNDM Vytautas Kasiulis Art Museum director Ilona Mažeikienė, LNDM Visual Arts Department head Regina Urbonienė and the artist’s daughter Carolyn Leigh. The exhibition exhibits the painter’s works, which were donated to Lithuania by the family of J. Mikševičius. The exhibition will be open until March 28.
“The National Art Museum of Lithuania consistently brings back to Lithuania the work of outstanding and mostly little-known expatriate artists, researches it and presents it to the public in impressive exhibitions. Thanks to the efforts of the museum’s curators and partners, Aleksandra Kašubienė, Pranas Domšaitis, Eva Kubbos, Žibuntas Mikšys, Antanas Mončys, famous Lithuanian painters, are regaining their rightful places in the history of Lithuanian art, we learn more about the work and life of emigrants from Lithuania. This fall, it’s time to get to know better the talent of Jurgis Mikševičius, who created in Australia. We are grateful to the generous artist’s family for this opportunity,” says LNDM General Director Dr. Arūnas Gelūnas.
The artist’s work includes war experiences, love for the Australian landscape and a dimension of sacredness
“My paintings are the totality of my life, events are secondary. If I have something to say, I can only say it with pictures, and words can only be a fainter reflection of it,” said J. Mikševičius.
The creative heritage of the artist who spoke in pictures consists of landscapes, portraits, still lifes, abstract compositions, drawings. According to the curators of the exhibition, the intense emotional state conveyed in J. Mikševičius’s paintings is close to the work of the German expressionists, while the search for new color harmony, modern resolution brings him closer to the abstract and avant-garde experiments of Paul Klee, and the meditative mood to the practice of Indian mysticism. Painful European war experiences, love for the Australian landscape, a warm and sensitive relationship with people, a dimension of sacredness are interwoven in the multifaceted work of the artist.
The creative phenomenon of J. Mikševičius has become extremely popular in Australia in the last decade: personal exhibitions were held in Lura, Manly, Battersea. “Very often, only after the death of the artist do we try to evaluate and understand his place in the wider field of art history. Belated as it is, this recognition is incredibly important. And the promotion of J. Mikševičius, a quiet and insatiable art practitioner, is no exception,” noted Australian art critic Roger Butler said.
LNDM photo/Jurgis Mikševičius. Lonely Peak, 1972
Buddhist Lithuanian painter, brought up in the Bauhaus school
J. Mikševičius was born in 1923. In Šiauliai, in the family of engineer Medgardas and doctor Elena. He graduated from the “Aušros” high school for boys in Kaunas. in 1944 after his family left Lithuania, he studied in Berlin, from 1946 studied architecture at Darmstadt University of Technology. Prof. visited here. Paulius Thesing’s studio, where he studied color theory, the basics of abstraction design. Students were educated according to the principles of the Bauhaus school. According to the curators of the exhibition, the years of study in Germany matured J. Mikševičius as an artist, formed his system of aesthetic values, and developed his artistic taste.
LNDM photo/Jurgis Mikševičius. Empty box, 1997
in 1948 the artist emigrated to Australia, where he first worked in a migrant camp in Battersea (New South Wales), then in construction in the country’s capital. A year later, J. Mikševičius became the first Lithuanian member of the Canberra Union of Artists. in 1953 the artist moved to Sydney, where he participated in the activities of the Contemporary Art Association and was one of the group of Baltic artists “Six Directions” (eng. Six Directions) founders. Organized joint exhibitions with Lithuanian artists Algirdas Šimkūnas, Henrikas Šalkauskas and others, worked as an art pedagogue.
LNDM photo/Jurgis Mikševičius. The Charlton Sovereign sails through the Suez Canal in 1948. September, 2013
During his studies, J. Mikševičius was interested in religious and philosophical texts of Hinduism, Indian art. He traveled to India several times and practiced Buddhism. About 1978 J. Mikševičius retired from public artistic life, but he did not abandon creativity, he painted until the last days of his life. The artist died at his home in Bensville in 2014, with his ashes scattered around the home.
A collection of the artist’s works was donated to Lithuania
In order to preserve and popularize the work of the unique Australian Lithuanian artist, the artist’s family formed a collection of works and in 2023. donated 77 works of J. Mikševičius and part of his personal archive to Lithuania. The Lithuanian Cultural Council and long-term partners of LNDM – Lithuanians of the World, Australian Lithuanian communities, and private sponsors helped implement this cooperation project of international significance.
The gift significantly enriched the collection of works of the Australian-Lithuanian artist kept by LNDM. The first works of J. Mikševičius reached Lithuania as early as 1994. together with the well-known patron Dr. Genovaitė Kazokas with works donated by LNDM.
LNDM photo/Jurgis Mikševičius, Gastonas, 1958
in 2012 the artist’s daughters, Helena Miksevicius and Carolyn Leigh, while visiting Vilnius, transferred 4 more works to the collections of the then Lithuanian Art Museum. Seven years ago, the artist’s daughter LNDM organized a presentation of the life and work of J. žMikševičius at the Vytautas Kasiulis Art Museum and exhibited a small-scale exhibition in the museum premises.
In the retrospective exhibition “The worlds of Jurgios Mikševičius”, visitors will see works from the collection of J. Mikševičius’s works at LNDM and 3 works of the artist stored in the National MK Čiurlionis Art Museum.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an educational program and a curatorial tour, which will be led by Carolyn Leigh, curator of the artist’s legacy, on November 8 at 5 pm.
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#Vytautas #Kasiulis #Art #Museum #work #Australian #painter #Jurgis #Mikševičius #Culture
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LNDM photo/Jurgis Mikševičius, Gastonas, 1958
The rich and varied body of work left behind by J. Mikševičius reflects not only his artistic journey but also his profound connection with both the European artistic traditions and the landscapes and cultures that came to influence him in Australia and beyond. His legacy is one that continues to inspire and promote cross-cultural appreciation of art.