In the gallery of Pranas Domšaitis – an exhibition of the works of the fresco and mosaic classic Angelina Banytė Culture

Visitors are invited until December 1 to visit the exhibition curated by Professor Ramutė Rachlevičiūtė of the Vilnius Academy of Arts and rediscover the artist who creates in the port city.

The exhibition “Angelina Banytė: a classic of modern frescoes and mosaics” is like a continuation of the Klaipėda cycle. This year in the gallery we present two artists of the older generation, masters of culture, who live and work in Klaipėda, sculptor Algirdas Bos and monumentalist Angelina Banytė.

Both artists arrived in Klaipėda on December 8. and to this day, his work gives the port city its uniqueness. The above-mentioned creators are united not only by the geographical location, but also by the post-romantic approach to nature, universal human nature and the historical past, which is evident in their work,” says Skaistė Marčienė, director of the Pranas Domšaitis Gallery of LNDM.

Property of Klaipėda University Hospital /Angelina Banytė “Birds”, sgraffito, 1981

An artist who doesn’t need an easel

The exhibition “Angelina Banytė: classics of modern frescoes and mosaics” exhibits more than 60 works of the artist from Lithuanian museums and private collections, paintings, sketches and projects of frescoes and mosaics from the artist’s workshop. The works of A. Banytė, an artist living in Klaipėda, are monumental, surprising with exceptional resolution and transparency. During her forty-five years of work, the artist created compositions with a total area of ​​more than 1000 m².

“My works are only commissions in architecture. Therefore, if there are no walls for murals, there is no me either”, says A. Banytė.

The artist created wall painting compositions in public spaces and public interiors of various cities of the country. A. Banytė’s work “Dainava’s country” can be seen at the “Dainava” sanatorium in Druskininkai. The artist’s works are also in rest houses “Gintaras” and “Pušynas” in Palanga, in the courtyard of the hotel “Nidas smiltė” in Nida. In Vilnius, A. Banytė, together with her teacher Sofija Veiveryte and painter Natalija Daškova, created her most famous and largest mural “Our Land”.

LNDM photo/Angelina Banytė “Ieva Simonaitytė”, canvas, oil, XX century. 9-10 Dec.

“A. Banytė belongs to the generation of monumentalist painters who, figuratively speaking, did not need an easel. The artist stood by the wall like the others at the easel. For a master of pure painting, a couple of square meters is quite a lot, and for monumentalist A.Banyta, the average format is regarding 15 square meters. There are really many walls on which monumental paintings, frescoes, sgraffito, and mosaic works were born slowly, as far as technology and creative forces allowed,” says exhibition curator Ramutė Rachlevičiūtė.

Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaitytė Public Library/Painters Angelina Banytė and Juozas Vosylius in the courtyard of the Clock Museum. Klaipėda, 1996,

Finding inspiration in Klaipėda

Reviewing the artist’s creative path, the curator of the exhibition R. Rachlevičiūtė states that fate was generous to A.Banyte: “She studied at the third show of Čiurlioniukai, in 1968. graduated from MKČiurlionis high school of art, the diploma work was supervised by the painter Vytautas Ciplijauskas. He studied fresco and mosaic at the Lithuanian State Art Institute (now the Vilnius Academy of Arts) under prof. Sofia Veiverytė.

The artist adopted the style of her teacher’s masterful drawing, precisely accurate and expressive, perfected it in her own way, created a unique sense of architectural thinking and space. While still studying in 1973 Banytė created an impressive mural “Celebration.”

LNDM photo/Angelina Banytė “Kristijonas Donelaitis”, canvas, oil, XX century. 9-10 Dec.

“In 1974 following finishing her studies, the artist was looking for a place to stay, to create living and creative conditions. in 1976 the legendary Klaipėda city nurturer Alfonsas Žalys invited the talented artist to the port city, provided her with an apartment and a workshop, thus creating conditions for her to live and create. 1978 was an important year in the life of the artist – then she held her first individual exhibition of her work and was accepted into the Lithuanian Union of Artists”, says R. Rachlevičiūtė, curator of the exhibition.

Klaipėda not only marks an important stage of the creative path in the life of the artist, it is in this city that you can see most of A. Banytė’s works. The artist’s mural “Medicine” in the Klaipėda hospital, “Birds” in the Klaipėda maternity hospital, “Time and Klaipėda” (together with J. Vosylius) – in the Clock Museum of LNDM, a series of murals in the Faculty of Humanities of Klaipėda University are known to Klaipėda residents.

LNDM photo/Angelina Banytė “Portrait of director Povilas Gaidis”, canvas, oil, 1987

A.Banytė also creates works of religious themes, which can be seen in Klaipėda’s Mary Queen of Peace Church, on the facade of the Lėbarta cemetery chapel (the work was created together with Arvydas Bumblius). One of the artist’s latest and greatest works is the mosaic “St. The Virgin Mary is the patroness of all saints and the sick” St. On the facade of Francis of Assisi Church in Klaipėda.

in 2013 A. Banyte was awarded the title of Master of Culture of Klaipėda for her exceptional merits in the field of monumental painting.