Kęstutis Zapkus exhibition "Drawings"

Abstractionist Kęstutis Zapkus is one of the most important Lithuanian painters living in the United States. K. Zapkus was born in 1938 in Lithuania, fled to the West with his mother in 1944, and emigrated to the United States in 1947, where he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, Syracuse University, and later in Paris. In 1989, he held the exhibition "Children of War" at the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius. In 1992, Kęstutis Zapkus arrived to teach at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. He taught for half a year, but the legend created remains alive to this day. In 2014, he was awarded the title of Honorary Professor of the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Over the decades, Kęstutis Zapkus has critically examined painting as a non-hierarchical, semiotic field, emphasizing the structural complexity of the painting, the simultaneity of the concept, and the depth of its experience. The artist's works have traveled to prestigious world galleries – the Brooklyn Museum, the Smithsonian in Washington, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. In 2014, a retrospective of his works was held for the first time in Lithuania, at the National Gallery of Art (NDG) in Vilnius. In 2023–2024, the "Meno parkas" gallery presented Kęstutis Zapkus's works at the Toruń Centre of Contemporary Art, the Art Academy of Latvia in Riga, the contemporary art fairs "Artissima" (Turin) and "Vienna Contemporary" (Vienna), and the 9th World Samogitian Art Exhibition in Plungė. In 2025, the artist's works were added to the National M. K. Čiurlionis collection. Throughout his life, the artist has maintained a strict commitment to abstraction, using a pure visual language without representation, and the structures of his works resemble musical compositions. His works draw the viewer into complex layers of color, space, and movement. Kęstutis Zapkus's approach to painting remains highly individual; he refuses to align with dominant art trends, yet draws inspiration from music, architecture, and historical or cultural events. For Kęstutis Zapkus, painting is an intellectual experience that unfolds through intense interaction with form. Following previous exhibitions at the "Meno parkas" gallery in 2023, the Artists' Association Gallery in 2025, and the "Baroti" gallery in Klaipėda in 2026, we continue our collaboration in light of the ongoing development and relevance of his work. The later works presented in this exhibition return to themes that have been important in the artist's practice for decades. The goal of the "Meno parkas" gallery, both with this exhibition and future ones, is to gradually reveal a collection of works, providing an opportunity to get acquainted with Kęstutis Zapkus's latest artistic explorations. - Dovilė Morkūnaitė-Žilinskė

The exhibition is part of the "Meno parkas" gallery project "Believing in Painting". The project is partially funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture. The exhibition at the "Meno parkas" gallery will be open until October 25. Gallery opening hours: Tue–Fri: 11:00–18:30 | Sat–Sun: 11:00–16:00 | The gallery is closed on Mondays and public holidays.