A bronze sculpture of Juozas Zikars stood next to the Owl Hill Culture

Artist Artūras Žilinskas immortalized the well-known personality of Lithuanian art – sculptor Juoz Zikaras. The bronze sculpture is a tribute to one of the most prominent creators of the country, whose name is inseparable from the symbolism of Lithuanian Independence. J.Zikaras created the first Lithuanian coins, his sculptures “Freedom”, “Knygnešys”, the monument “Unknown Soldier”, busts of prominent national figures adorn Kaunas.

“Kaunas has already become an open-air museum, full of stories about the city and prominent personalities who lived here. The works of Juoz Zikars are important not only for Kaunas, but for the whole of Lithuania. We hope that it will encourage you to visit the museum more often, to get to know the sculptor, his merits and legacy. I’m glad that the Kaunas Accents program gives young Kaunas sculptors the opportunity to implement their creative ideas,” Kaunas Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis said about the work of art that decorated the city.

Kaunas city municipality photo/J. Zikar sculpture

The life-size figure of Juozs Zikars is placed on a gray granite pedestal, decorated with a brass plaque with the sculptor’s signature. Standing next to the house-museum gate, Mr. Zikars greets arriving visitors in a work coat, peeping and looking curiously towards the Owl Mountain.

The monument diversifies the environment and complements the museum’s exposition, as if inviting you to see authentic interwar interiors, preserved and restored details, the sculptor’s living and workshop spaces.

Artūras Žilinskas strove for the final result to be as similar as possible to the real personality and conveyed all this in his work. While creating the monument, he analyzed the features of Juoz Zikars, his style of dressing, his lifestyle. According to the author, he was a sweet, sensitive person who knew how to sympathize not only verbally, but also by providing all kinds of help. He often fed, trained and helped his students so that only they could grow.

Kaunas city municipality photo/J. Zikar sculpture

The work was created through the program “Kaunas Aksentai”. This is already the second accent of A. Žilinskas to decorate the city. Last year, the sculptor installed the massive feet of the “Mythical Creature” at the entrance to the stairs of Kaunas.

Since 2017, the project “Kaunos aksentai” invites artists to propose ideas, to decorate the city’s public spaces with works of sculpture, design objects, light installations, lighting or street painting. The implementation of the highlights selected and approved by the Commission is financed by the Kaunas City Municipality.