Exhibition "Collectors: Open Cards"

Playing card exhibition "Collectors: Open Cards" Galaunė House-Museum, Vydūno al. 2, Kaunas Exhibition opening, April 9, 5:00 PM Why do people collect? At first glance, simple, everyday objects, accumulated over time with passion and dedication, begin to tell much more than just the story of the collection itself. They reveal personal histories, the spirit of the era, aesthetic choices, and the human relationship with the world. The exhibition "Collectors: Open Cards" presents the playing card collection of collector Giedrius Steponavičius. Here, cards are viewed not only as a means of gaming but also as an independent phenomenon of visual culture. The design, iconography, symbols, and artistic expression of the cards reflect the aesthetic trends, political ideas, and cultural contexts of different eras. From a historical perspective, playing cards bear witness to technological development, printing capabilities, and travels between countries and cultures. From a social aspect, they become a tool for communication, leisure, and gathering – an object that brings people together, creates rituals, and encourages dialogue and competition. Giedrius Steponavičius began collecting cards twelve years ago, starting with the first deck that caught his interest at a flea market. Today, his collection includes more than 3,000 decks of cards from various countries around the world, with special attention given to Lithuanian cards in recent years. The exhibits presented in the exhibition reveal the thematic and visual diversity of this collection, highlighting different aspects of card history and culture in Lithuania and beyond. Playing cards have long been not only a means of entertainment but also a source of inspiration for artists. Due to their symbolism, clear structure, and visual diversity, they often appear in painting, graphics, illustration, or posters. Card motifs provide an opportunity to talk about chance, fate, luck, and risk – themes that have always been close to human experience and imagination. The exhibition also presents art treasures kept in the collections of the National M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art, revealing the theme of cards and their use. Works by foreign painters, photographs, and other visual testimonies are exhibited, opening up the role of cards in everyday life and culture. Among them are photographs of First Lady Sofija Smetonienė, testifying to her hobby of playing cards, as well as moments of the Galaunė family playing, reflecting the leisure habits, meetings, and communication rituals of that time. The exhibition cycle "Collectors," born in the Galaunė House and inspired by Paulius Galaunė, reveals his activities as a bibliophile and collector and researcher of graphic works – ex-libris, prints, and drawings. He inherited this hobby from his father and accumulated more than 800 17th–20th century ex-libris, over 12,000 books in his personal library, and more than 1,200 graphic works, which are currently kept in the Galaunė House-Museum. Collecting is not just accumulation, but also an attempt to understand, give meaning to, and preserve what is important.