Unusually Dense Branchwork

Unusually Dense Branchwork
Landscapes by Lida Meškaitytė and Igoris Piekuras

The exhibition encourages to take a fresh look at two artists who, at first glance, appear to have nothing in common. However, the dialogue between the fragile miniatures and the huge canvases reveals the slow, attentive, and respectful gaze of the artists toward the ever-changing landscape. 

History of the works, spanning more than half a century, reveals the period from 1944 to 2001. During this time, the Lithuanian landscape underwent enormous changes - it was marked by war and post-war events, mass land reclamation, and reckless pollution. Although artists were subjected to rules on how to 'properly' depict nature, Meškaitytė and Piekuras each found a way to preserve their unique perspective. For them, landscape became both a document and a romantic escape from the grim reality of the Soviet era.  

The exhibition was organized in collaboration with the MTR Art Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting the creative legacy of Marija Teresė Rožanskaitė and Igoris Piekuras. The exhibition was curated by Rugilė Rožėnė, historian at the (Post)Authoritarian Landscapes Research Center of the Faculty of History at Vilnius University, and Eglė Juocevičiūtė, curator at the National Art Gallery of the LNMA.   


Curators: Eglė Juocevičiūtė, Rugilė Rožėnė   

Architect Gabrielė Černiavskaja   

Designer Ugnė Balčiūnaitė   

Organizer National Art Gallery of the LNMA 

Project funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania  

Sponsor Exterus Fundermax     

Partners: MTR Art Foundation, PAScapes, M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum, Lithuanian National Museum, Lithuanian Central State Archives  

Exhibits were loaned by: Juozas Matonis, Domilė Šveistytė