IN MEMORIAM: VALENTINAS ANTANAVIČIUS (1936 05 02, Kušlikiai – 2024 09 20, Vilnius).
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Valentinas Antanavičius – Lithuanian art classic, educator. The artist has been teaching in the Vilnius M. K. Čiurlionio Art School, J. Vienožinskis Children Art School for many years, and has had very close connection with the Vilnius Academy of Arts: studied here (1956–1962), as well as taught here (1988–2008). His creative workshop has been nearby - in the Bokšto St., hence, even when he finished teaching, he used to come to his studio and the Academy for lunch. Afterwards, used to visit the VDA library. We knew that we could meet Valentinas every day in the Academy.
The artist held himself as a self-taught, as he had no place to rely on at the start of his creative journey. Therefore, he used to get inspirational ideas from the ethnic art (not only Lithuanian), arsonists, his artist friends, worldwide painting masters. In the official Soviet lifestyle the artist has applied various strategies, as the political and social metaphor-inspired artwork painting often did not make it to displays. Hence, Valentinas has focused on painting images of various artists - became famous for painting portraits of writers: Juozas Aputis (1977), Romualdas Lankauskas (1977), Jono Mikelinskas (1980), Juozas Grušas (1985), and others, as well as laid watercolors which have been exhibited in international displays, catalogs, private collections of foreign collectors.
Not only has Valentinas Antanavičius influenced others by visuals, but also by his writings in the book "Life without a parade" ("Gyvenimas be parado" | LDS Publishing, 2011), where he wrote about long-term and deep experiences in the Soviet times. Valentinas has become a well-taught master of painting during the beginning of the independence movement when the opportunity took place to exhibit his "Silent modernizm" artworks in 1986 at the Art Display Palace (now - ŠMC). By William Faulkner, we can say that "The painter managed to fit the Soviet life critics on the end of a brush." It is ideological ati-soviet painting. There were many paintings that were painted on big construction cardboard paper and placed aside for himslef, not to exhibit. They were waiting for better times, and have made it.
The last greatest artist retrospective "Pasaulis suvalkiečio akimis" (2022, curator Ieva Antanavičiūtė-Pleikienė and Ramutė Rachlevičiūtė) at the VDA "Titanikas" exhibition halls has reminded and helped to highlight the place of the artist in the 20th century second half of the Lithuanian art history. Together with Vincas Kisarauskas they are the starters of ensemble and creators in the Lithuanian artist field.
Various institutions have aquired the artworks of V. Antanavičius, such as museums of Lithuania, Poland, USA, private collectors around the world. He has received the Lithuanian National Culture and Art Prize (1992), and the Order of the Merits for the work he has done for the Lithuanian Knight Cross (2006).
Prof. dr. Ramutė Rachlevičiūtė
The farewell with Valentinas Antanavičius is taking place at the funeral home "Nutrūkusi styga“ in Vilnius on September 23rd (Monday) at 17:00–20:00, and September 24th (Tuesday) at 12:00–14:00. The Holy Mass will take place on Tuesday in the St. Apostle Church of Petras and Povilas. The Urn will be carried on Tuesday at 14:00, and the funeral service will take place at the Sudervės Cemetery in Vilnius.
