Joint painting exhibition “Silence and Light. Returns”

The Trakai Vokė Manor has been exhibiting paintings and graphic works by six authors living and working in Kaunas since May 12, 2026 – Antanas Andziulis, Aušra Andziulytė, Laima Drazdauskaitė, Aistė Juškevičiūtė, Gintaras Kušlis and Serena Pečiūnaitytė.

The exhibition “Silence and Light. Returns” is presented as an exhibition related to the spaces of the manor, their visual environment, the relationships between light and shadow and the expression of these elements in visual art. The aspect of return emphasized in the title is associated with the connections of the authors’ work with the exhibition location.

The exhibition concept is related to the cultural environment, historical context and aesthetics of the manors. At the same time, other important aspects are highlighted in the exhibition: the authors’ works are united by the tradition of modernist creativity, reflected in both paintings and graphic works.

The exhibited works convey different ways of depicting the environment. They capture various visual motifs, compositional solutions and plastic forms of expression, reflecting individual principles of artistic interpretation.

The works presented at the exhibition show that in fine art reality is not only reproduced – it is also transformed using artistic means. Painting and graphic works reveal different models of interpreting objects, spaces and phenomena, based on the creative practice of the authors.

About the painters

ANTANAS ANDZIULIS (b. 1960) – painter, member of the Lithuanian Artists’ Union. In 1984 he graduated from the Lithuanian Institute of Arts. 1986–1990 – teacher of painting at Kaunas St. Žukas Applied Arts Technical School. 1989–1991 – teacher of painting and drawing at the Kaunas branch of the VDI. 1991–1993 – teacher of painting at Kaunas Art Gymnasium. He has been participating in exhibitions since 1984. He says about himself: “After studying painting, I tried to continue depicting real forms in real space in my works. Alongside this, there were studies of symbolic constructivism. But both directions did not provide satisfaction. The concept of background and figure and the desire to retreat from visible nature prompted me to take up expressive abstraction in 1993. At that time, I was delighted by the opportunity to choose an ever-new color and tonal contrast between the background and figure, the speed and energy of action that remained on the painted sheet. The search for order, clarity and simplicity turned into works of geometric abstraction in 2010. Since then, I have loved the square format, and two things have become very important to me in painting: strong color tension and the connection between the construction of the work and the title given to it.”

AUŠRA ANDZIULYTĖ (b. 1961) is a painter whose abstract works arise from the observation of nature. Her work is interested in intangible, eternal themes: light, space, signs of movement, temporality, eternal change, harmony expressed through changing colors. Her work is influenced by music and observation of nature. She develops a unique painting style – intuitive abstract painting, shaping the space of the picture with sensitive color nuances. She mostly works in oil on tin and canvas. She pours watercolor. She created artist’s books, collages, chamber objects, works in tempera and acrylic, and postal art postcards.

LAIMA DRAZDAUSKAITĖ (born 1947) – painter, professor of the Department of Painting of the VDA KDF, recipient of many international and national awards and scholarships. In 1968. graduated from the State Institute of Art (now Vilnius Academy of Arts). Since 1969. works as a teacher (since 1996 as a teacher-expert) at Kaunas A. Martinaitis Art School. 1993–2002 as an assistant at the Faculty of Arts of VMU, since 1996 she has been teaching painting at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, Kaunas Faculty of Arts.

The painter has participated in numerous group exhibitions, however, she organizes personal exhibitions somewhat less often. She is particularly sensitive to the quality of light, thinks of conceptual themes for exhibitions and carefully chooses natural light exhibition lighting, especially since her works do not speak about the material world, but express short-term things in them with a humanly shy, artistically willful affirmation of infinity and hope… In addition to collectors, the artist’s works have been acquired by major Lithuanian museums.

AISTĖ JUŠKEVIČIŪTĖ (b. 1963) – painter, member of the Lithuanian Artists’ Union. In 1983–1989, she studied painting at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. She has been participating in exhibitions since 1988. Since 1995, she has been working as an art teacher at the Kaunas Art Gymnasium.

In her work, the artist often explores the semantic meaning of words, the symbolism of color, and the multi-meaning of the surface of a painting. In addition, she is interested in the multi-planarity of the surface of a painting: when viewed from afar, it seems that the elements of the painting are arranged on a single pictorial plane, and as you get closer, one or more spatial planes are revealed, consisting of lines, strokes, characters, and sequences of numbers, as if the painting seen “from the inside” acquires a new meaning…

GINTARAS KUŠLYS (born 1962) is a painter and art critic, a member of the Lithuanian Artists’ Union. He paints and writes articles exploring the current situation of Lithuanian art, has published a number of scientific texts on the topic of cultural heritage – the protection and restoration of works of art – and also curates exhibitions, organizes projects, etc. In 2003, he graduated from the Institute of Arts of Vytautas Magnus University, and in 2004, for his master’s thesis in art criticism “Restoration of the Wall Paintings of Pažaislis Monastery: Monument Protection Aspect”, he was awarded the 2003 Lithuanian Academy of Sciences Higher Education Students’ Research Prize. In 2010, he was awarded the Kaunas City Municipality Culture and Art Scholarship, and in 2016, the Lithuanian Council for Culture Individual Scholarship. He has been participating in exhibitions since approximately 1991. In addition to art history articles, she has prepared the publication “Smūtkeliai: popklubas, 1969–1971”.

SERENA PEČIŪNAITYTĖ (b. 1976) is a graphic artist, has been organizing exhibitions since 1991. In 2001, she graduated from the Vilnius Academy of Arts with a Master’s degree in graphic arts, specializing in printmaking. Since 2020, she has been a member of the Lithuanian Artists’ Union. Her work includes drypoint graphics, linocuts, black-and-white and color drawings on paper and on walls, drawings in book illustrations, and decorations for performances and folklore events. In the artist’s works, one can see not only mastery revealed through the technique of traditional graphic arts, but also mythology intertwined with animalistics, fantastic motifs of the animal or human world, etc. Her exhibitions are known in Lithuania, Slovenia, India, Greece, and Indonesia. This author is often seen at international plein airs, art symposia and education events.

The exhibition will be open until July 10.