Long before the opening evening of the artists’ symposium, a creative atmosphere had already filled Zubovai Palace. From early morning, symposium participants gathered here, settled into their workspaces, shared their first creative ideas and prepared for the week-long creative process. In the evening, the creative bustle gave way to a festive atmosphere as artists, guests and art lovers gathered for the opening of the symposium.
Exhibitions by renowned artists, accompanying participants and visitors throughout the creative week, are becoming a beautiful tradition of the international artists’ symposium-creative workshops “Sunny Šiauliai”. They not only enrich the programme, but also become a source of inspiration for the artists. This year, such a highlight is the exhibition “Traces of Time” by Šiauliai painter Antanas Šeronas. Art historian Dr Dalia Karatajienė, who presented the exhibition, invited those gathered to explore the artist’s mature work, revealing his distinctive relationship with time, memory and the beauty of everyday life.
“Antanas is someone who is able to turn a simple motif into extraordinary painting. Antanas chooses those traditional, seemingly simple landscapes and fragments of interiors and turns them into truly excellent paintings. ‘Traces of Time’ seems to have a certain distance between what exists now and what time is,” said art historian Dr Dalia Karatajienė.
While presenting his exhibition, Antanas Šeronas shared sentimental thoughts about Zubovai Palace. “I am somewhat sentimental about this kind of history, so it is very pleasant for me to question my works at Zubovai Palace, knowing its history; it holds enormous significance for Šiauliai, and many artists have enriched it in all kinds of ways. Speaking about my works, I personally like the old saying ‘beauty lies in simplicity’ the most. Why search in space or among the constellations when everything can be perfectly well found here on earth.”
During the opening, all symposium participants were introduced and presented with bright yellow aprons – a symbolic sign marking the beginning of the creative week. Throughout the week, the artists will capture the spirit of the anniversary year on canvas, interpreting the history, symbols, architecture, atmosphere and distinctive identity of the city of Šiauliai in their own way.
From 14 July, admirers of professional art are invited not only to visit A. Šeronas’ exhibition “Traces of Time”, but also to see with their own eyes how paintings dedicated to the 790th anniversary of Šiauliai are created. Every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., visitors to Zubovai Palace will be able to interact with the artists and observe up close the painting process that usually remains unseen by audiences. Only on the final day of the symposium, 18 July, visitors will be welcome until 4 p.m.
The creative week will also be complemented by other events. On 15 July, Zubovai Palace will host a screening of “Ticket to Taj Mahal” (1991), a film by one of the symposium participants, director Algimantas Puipa, during which audiences will have the opportunity to meet the director himself. On 18 July, the symposium programme will culminate in a musical premiere by Gediminas Dapkevičius and Deimantė Kraujutytė – the electronic meditation “Sand and Water”.
The works created during the international artists’ symposium-creative workshops “Sunny Šiauliai” will be presented to residents and visitors of Šiauliai in September, during “Šiauliai Days”, when the paintings created at Zubovai Palace will become a symbolic gift from the artists to the city on the occasion of its 790th anniversary.
More moments from the event: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=LaiptuGalerija&set=a.1745787253839288
Photo by Liubov Yarmoshenko.
Information is provided by Kristina Alseikė, Event Organiser at the Exhibitions Department of Šiauliai Culture Centre, tel. +370 658 80 507, e-mail kristina.alseike@siauliukc.lt.
