Henrikas Čerapas | Memorial of Papilė Cooperative Warehouse

On the 1st of March 2024, at 6 pm Henrikas Čerapas’ exhibition “Memorial of Papilė Cooperative Warehouse” opens in the Exhibition Hall (3rd floor) and the 5th floor atrium of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania.

The exhibition includes the works “Stream” (Upelis) (2022), “The Pleasant Smell of Sleeper Resin” (Jaukiai kvepia pabėgių derva) (2022-2023), and “Memorial of Papilė Cooperative Warehouse” (2021-2022), which were created in the thematic series “Memorial of Papilė Cooperative Warehouse” in 2021-2023.

The main theme encoded in the exhibited works is memory, but in the structures that Čerapas constructs we can also discern the method of a systematic approach to painting. Looking at the totality of Čerapas’ works on display, we see a certain regularity: the works mirror each other, certain fragments repeat themselves, and strokes follow a methodical rhythm. The regularity that binds the works allows us to search for the principles of the internal system and to construct the exhibition as an experimental investigation of Čerapas’ painting system.

The importance of the relationship between the works brings us back to the monadological system of the 17th century philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, which explains the principles of monads as the fundamental elements of reality. In Leibniz’s philosophical discourse, the monad is one part of a complex system of substances, and their totality constitutes reality. We use this philosophical position as a starting point for the reconstruction of Čerapas’ painting system. The totality of the works exhibited in the exhibition, as monads, form this defined space of reality, which we call the “Memorial of Papilė Cooperative Warehouse”. On its basis, a systematic monadology of Čerapas’ paintings is constructed.
On 14 March, the scientific symposium “Monadological Landscapes: Reflections of Leibniz’s Theory in Philosophy and Painting” will take place.

The exhibition “Memorial of Papilė Cooperative Warehouse” by Henrikas Čerapas will be open from 1 March 2024 to 21 May 2024. During the opening hours of the National Library (I-V 8-21, VI-VII 10-18).
Exhibition curator: Kristijona Čerapaitė
Exhibition art critic: Agnė Kulbytė
Coordinator: Milda Dainovskytė
Designer: Emilija Dobrovolskienė
Technical coordinator: Algirdas Jakas
Funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture
Partners: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, Vilnius University, Faculty of Philosophy