Jeruzalė. Six Decades in the Garden: Teodoras Kazimieras Valaitis

Exhibition of works by Teodoras Kazimieras Valaitis (1934–1974)

Vlado Vildžiūnas Gallery

On 9 July at 7:00 PM, the Vlado Vildžiūnas Gallery will open the exhibition Jeruzalė. Six Decades in the Garden: Teodoras Kazimieras Valaitis. The opening evening will feature improvised performances by Janas Maksimovičius and Eugenijus Kanevičius.

Artists who belong to a nation’s artistic canon are often remembered only on milestone anniversaries. Yet these commemorations remain meaningful, allowing new generations to encounter their work with fresh eyes. The strong public response to the gallery’s exhibitions dedicated to Vladas and Marija Vildžiūnas and Kazimiera Zimblytė (2022–2024) demonstrated the continued relevance of these artists. The exhibition on Teodoras Kazimieras Valaitis naturally continues this series, placing him among Lithuania’s “silent modernists”—artists who gathered at the Vildžiūnas home in Jerusalem, Vilnius, during the 1960s–1980s, creating an oasis of artistic freedom where the conventions of Socialist Realism were challenged and authentic connections with the wider world beyond the Iron Curtain were forged.

Valaitis’ most recent retrospective, marking the anniversaries of his birth and death, was presented in July 2024 at the Antanas Mončys House-Museum in Palanga. Lasting less than a month, that exhibition now finds an extension in Vilnius, where it is enriched by the historical context of the Vildžiūnas home and the Jerusalem Sculpture Garden. It also marks the return of Valaitis’ works to these spaces after a 22-year absence.

Many visitors may recall an iconic image preserved in the memories of those who knew the artist:

“In the summer of 1973, a year before his death, Teodoras rode on a black horse from the Riešė stud farm to visit us in Jerusalem. Like a romantic knight, he circled the meadow around Vladas’ sculpture Barbara.”

These rare 16 mm film recordings by Vladas Vildžiūnas are among the few moving images documenting Valaitis during his lifetime.

In the autumn of 1974, Valaitis died in a fire, leaving behind a studio filled with unrealised ideas. Within a day and a half, fellow sculptors Stanislovas Kuzma, Leonas Virbickas, and Šarūnas Šimulynas carved an oak memorial to honour him.

The friendship between Vladas Vildžiūnas and Teodoras Valaitis began during their studies at the Vilnius Art Institute and continued until Valaitis’ untimely death. They shared a fascination with leading modernist sculptors including Henry Moore, Constantin Brâncuși, Jean Arp, Alexander Calder, and Jacques Lipchitz, as well as a common understanding of monumentality in sculpture. After Valaitis’ death, Vildžiūnas and the artist’s close friends continued preserving and promoting his legacy, overseeing the production of works in durable materials and presenting them internationally.

Teodoras Kazimieras Valaitis is regarded as one of the most significant Lithuanian modernist artists of the second half of the twentieth century. Remembered by his contemporaries as an intellectual, a universal creator, a Renaissance man, and an aristocrat of the spirit, he pursued ambitious artistic ideas despite the restrictions of Soviet society.

Although widely recognised for his innovative interior designs for restaurants and Soviet exhibition pavilions abroad—many of which have since disappeared—Valaitis also developed a quieter, more introspective body of work devoted to “pure art.” This lesser-known aspect of his practice is the focus of the exhibition.

The exhibition includes:

• bronze, plaster, and foam sculptures;
• repoussé metal reliefs;
• bronze and composite casts made from original foam and clay sculptures;
• reconstructed brass sculptures based on the artist’s original cardboard models (recreated by Gediminas Kavaliauskas);
• paintings;
• drawings;
• sketches.

The sculpture Sun Bird, newly cast from the original foam model, is exhibited again after many years. The original was last shown at Valaitis’ posthumous exhibition in 1975 before disappearing for decades. Many of the drawings and sketches are being framed and exhibited publicly for the first time.

The exhibited works are on loan from Mariana Bruni, Gediminas Kavaliauskas, Aušra Petrauskaitė, and the Vildžiūnas Collection.

Throughout the exhibition, the gallery’s Black Hall will screen archival documentary footage, including:

• rare 16 mm films shot by Vladas Vildžiūnas featuring Valaitis in Jerusalem, Vilnius;
• footage from the wedding of Jonas and Aušra Jurašas;
• scenes from Valaitis’ studio;
• his public artworks and the 1975 memorial exhibition.

During guided tours, visitors will also have the opportunity to watch the Lithuanian National Radio and Television documentary Legends: Teodoras Kazimieras Valaitis (directed by Audrius Stonys, 2016).

Visiting Information

Opening hours:

• Thursday–Saturday: 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Visits are available by prior appointment only.

Reservations:

• Phone: +370 685 78257
• Email: [email protected]

Facebook: Vlado Vildžiūnas Gallery. Jerusalem Sculpture Garden

Organiser: Vilnius Jerusalem Art Centre

The project is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and partially funded by the Vilnius City Municipality.

Photo: Teodoras Kazimieras Valaitis in the Jerusalem Sculpture Garden, 1973. Still from documentary footage filmed by Vladas Vildžiūnas.