The last of the great monumentalists: the cream of Klaipėda art gathered for the opening of A.Banytė’s exhibition | Culture

Photographer Remigijus Treigys, ceramist Daiva Lozytė, sculptor Arūnas Sakalauskas, ceramist Izrailas Baroti, jeweler Saulius Bertulis, director of the Maritime Museum Olga Žalienė, painter Rolandas Marčius and others took part in the exhibition.

The retrospective exhibition, which can be seen until December 1. Klaipėda’s Pranas Domšaitis gallery in Klaipėda, curated by Ramutė Rachlevičiūtė, professor of the Vilnius Academy of Arts.

Ji 15min said that the most important thing in this exhibition is ambition, because A. Banytė has created a total of 1000 square meters of visual art.

“Just painting such an area with frescoes and mosaics is a lot, and she carved it on the wall,” commented the curator. – When an artist receives a large order, usually top-class plasterers are hired to prepare the wall for the actual mural. And all other smaller orders of 15-80 square meters are plastered by the artist herself. These are extremely physically demanding jobs.”

Gabrielė Navickaitė / 15min photo./Ramutė Rachlevičiūtė

“Today we live in a time of haste and all art is ephemeral – in the format of video, projections, performance, documentation, so we have very little that will last forever,” highlighted R. Rachlevičiūtė.

A wide range of A.Banytė’s creations can be seen at the exhibition. In it you can find works created 50 years ago and the most recent ones.

A.Banytė has created more than ten objects in Klaipėda alone. One of her last works is the mosaic “St. The Virgin Mary is the patroness of all saints and the sick” (2022) on St. Facade of Francis of Assisi Church in Klaipėda.

“We can be happy that patrons financed such work. After all, the pieces of this mosaic were prepared in Ravenna, Italy, the motherland of mosaics. Can you imagine what wealth Klaipėda has? Nowadays, only Gytenis Umbrasas does such projects,” said the professor, commenting on the recent work.

When asked what is the greatest creative innovation of A. Banytė, R. Rachlevičiūtė answered: “It’s sad to say, but she is the last of the great monumentalists. I don’t believe that anyone would create a 140 square meter real mural. It is a huge physical work, for which shoulder and arm joints are responsible. Imagine putting on several thin layers of colored plaster and taking a sharp knife and carving until the bottom, middle or top layers are exposed.”

According to R.Rachlevičiūtė, A.Banytė continued the tradition of professor Sofija Veiverytė’s high-level frescoes and created a unique style: “We see that in the portraits and still lifes of the artist. A. Banytė continues the line of a powerful, ambitious woman.”

I would very much like to submit it to this year’s National Culture and Art Award, noted the professor.

“Frankly speaking, knowing the commission’s priorities and the fact that only six bonuses are awarded, there are few chances, but it is possible to try,” said R. Rachlevičiūtė.

The artist, speaking with 15min, remained laconic. During the presentation, R.Rachlevičiūtė noted that it was difficult to persuade the artist to participate in the exhibition.

Gabrielė Navickaitė / 15min photo/Angelina Banytė

“I no longer work creatively, I no longer have the strength and conditions – I have not had my own separate studio for 20 years. My music is over. It happens like this,” 15min said A. Banytė.

What works remain the most important for the artist throughout her life? “Frescoes. Wall painting. And everything else is just like that – the material collected for the frescoes,” the artist answered clearly.

She named S. Veiverytė, with whom she maintained a warm relationship, as the greatest teacher of her life.

“She was a teacher with a capital letter,” A. Banytė commented. “She taught me, we worked at the institute for five years, and then we worked together for two years.”

When asked how she feels regarding being from Klaipėda, she replied that it was great: “I need peace and my own people. I came here specifically, I wanted it since I graduated from the institute.”

A. Banytė was born on August 6, 1949. Mažeikiai. He graduated from the Lithuanian Art Institute in 1974, and since 1973 he has been participating in exhibitions in Lithuania and abroad.