Vytauto Kasiulio dailės muziejus
ENVytautas Kasiulis Art Museum is a new department of the Lithuanian Art Museum, established at the historical Residence of Vilnius Society of Friends of Science. The authors of the early 20th century neoclassical residence project were the engineers Henryk Wojnicki and Jan Trojan. In 2012 with funds from the European Union Operational Programme for Promotion of Cohesion, as well as the budget of the Republic of Lithuania, the building of Vilnius Society of Friends of Science was reconstructed and modernized, adapting it to contemporary needs of the museum. Currently this residence houses the permanent display of the works of the artist Vytautas Kasiulis, exhibition halls, conference and events centre and hosts music events. The primary mission of the museum is to preserve and exhibit the creative legacy of the artist V. Kasiulis, which was bequeathed to Lithuania by his widow Bronė Kasiulienė through their son Vytautas Kasiulis junior in 2010. The collection consists of 950 works and the artist’s personal archive. The museum also hosts exhibitions of other famous émigrée artists’ works. In 2013 Lithuanian Museums’ Centre for Information, Digitisation and LIMIS developed an audio guide text for Vytautas Kasiulis Art Museum. It consists of 30 most valuable exhibits related to the creative work of the artist V. Kasiulis (reproduction, paintings, illustrations, drawings), which reflect the artist’s creative journey and achievements. The aim of this article, prepared according to the audio guide mentioned, is to make a detailed presentation of the exhibits selected for the audio guide and to highlight their uniqueness. V. Kasiulis is one of a few Lithuanian artists to earn international recognition. Many museums, art galleries and collectors in France, the United States of America, the Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Argentina, Australia and other countries have acquired and still treasure his works.In 1937–1941 the artist studied and later taught at Kaunas School of Arts. In 1944 he went to Austria and Germany to refine his skills. He taught at Freiburg School of Arts and Crafts. Having arrived in Paris in 1948, he settled there for a long time. Since 1949 he exhibited his works in prestigious Parisian galleries and since 1954 – in the largest European and North American cities as well. V. Kasiulis’s characteristic stylistic manner, notable for the virtuoso play with lines, colour palettes ablaze with consonance of refined shades and playful stylisation of shapes became fully developed in Paris. In his works the artist turned simple everyday scenes into a strange spectacle balancing on the brink between reality and fantasy.
