In the Museum of Photography, the exhibition "Visions" reflects the search for novelty and originality in the 20th century in Lithuanian photography

The exhibition exhibits the works of Povilas Karpavičius, Vitalijas Butyrins, Aleksanders Macijauskas, Vitos Luckaus, Virgilijas Šonta, Algirdas Šeškaus, Alfonso Budvytis, Remigijaus Pacėsa, Vytautas Balčytis, Arūnas Kulikauskas, Giedrias Liagos and Violeta Bubelytė from the Museum of Photography, the Lithuanian Photographic Artists' Union, the Lithuanian National Museum of Fine Arts and private collections.

The exhibition (titled "VISIONS") was prepared for the international Białystok Interphoto Festival in Poland by the curators Valentyn Odnoviun and the head of the Museum of Photography Vilijas Ulinskytė-Balzienė. It was exhibited in the town hall of Baltstogė (Palenka Museum) in October of this year.

An expanded version of the exhibition is presented at the Museum of Photography. It reflects the diverse development of Lithuanian photography, emphasizes individual innovations and the pursuit of originality and self-expression. The narrative of the exhibition begins with the work of P. Karpavičius. Having already started experimenting in the interwar period, the author created innovative visual constructions, using photomontage and various photochemical processes, turning reality into an artistic phenomenon. The person of Mr. Karpavičius connected interwar photography lovers and the emerging 20th century. the 1960s and 1970s photo movement. The so-called Lithuanian school of photography was also formed under the influence of the author, which is represented in the exhibition by V. Butyrinas, A. Macijauskas and V. Luckus.

Early montages of V. Butyrin resembled reportage, but later the author turned to symbolism and created unique surrealist kingdoms full of poetic images. A. Macijauskas became famous for his dynamic series "Lithuanian Village Markets" and "Veterinary Clinics", where intimate and touching scenes were captured with a wide-angle lens. V. Luckus, the pioneer of performative photography, included the "concept of the mind" in his work, recreated photos, changed colors and arranged them in his own way into unique combinations, which are represented in the exhibition by the works of the "Mimai" cycle.

In the 1980s, a period of change began in Lithuanian photography. V. Shonta's cycle "School - my home" depicted the daily experience of orphans with special needs, explored previously forbidden topics and questioned established social norms. A. Šeškus fearlessly challenged traditional Lithuanian photography, motivated the younger generation to adopt innovative and conceptual aesthetic methods.

V. Bubelytė created conceptual photo performances, while A. Budvytis, R. Pačėsa and V. Balčytis moved from documentary to "defective" photography methods, which cause a sense of decay and the perception of time slowed down. Similarly, A. Kulikauskas and G. Liagas from Kaunas' "Plėšrūnai grupė" reflected on everyday objects and situations while re-creating found photographs.