EXHIBITION "PILGRIMS" BY ALDONA KETURAKIENĖ

Aldona Keturakienė's exhibition "Pilgrims".

Aldona Keturakienė commemorates her 50-year anniversary of creative activity with the special exhibition Pilgrims which draws generalizations on the key principles of the creative activity of the artist. When creating, she always looks for innovative ceramic technology and plasticity opportunities. Due to her mastery in dealing with various materials, Aldona Keturakienė works out various ideas, involves the viewers with her conceptual undertakings, and surprises them with unexpected implementation.

This anniversary exhibition presents works of different periods across a wide range of materials and technologies – from installations to singular objects of fine bone china. In the words of the artist, this is an attempt to link different segments of personal creative activity in a single exhibition while casting a glance from aside, by moving from the foreground and, in this context, intentionally escaping retrospective generalizations, which are so common in anniversary exhibitions. 

It was way back in 1972 when Aldona Keturakienė started presenting her works in exhibitions. From the very beginning of her creative path, the works of the artist were abundant in interdisciplinarity. This reflects the inherent need experienced by the artist to explore the environment, to analyze these experiences, to be more profound, and to always pursue the broader contexts, without restricting oneself to a single discipline, a single form of expression or the topic of exploration. In the process of creation, the artist demonstrates her skill of interconnecting the principles of ceramics, graphic design, sculpture, and object art. In the field of Lithuanian ceramics, especially concerning fine bone china, she may be considered the true pioneer who was brave enough to undertake experimentation with this highly specific and challenging material. 

The incessant creative activity, together with the decades spent when training future professionals of the art of ceramics gave a hint for the title of this personal exhibition Pilgrims because not only people, but also works of art regularly travel from place to place.

Aldona Keturakienė is a Professor and a long-term Chair of the Ceramics Department of Kaunas Arts Institute of Vilnius Academy of Arts. For many years, Aldona Keturakienė served as the Dean of the Institute and was the organizer of the International Jiesia Porcelain Symposia. She is a recipient of the Governmental Culture Award. Aldona Keturakienė has been residing and working in Kaunas. She was born in the town of Ukmergė in 1945. In 1973, she graduated from Vilnius Academy of Arts. Her list of teachers includes Prof. Liudvikas Strolis, Juozas Adomonis, Vladas Drėma, Assoc. Prof. Zenonas Varnauskas, Liudas Truikys, Stasys Ušinskas, sculptor Jadvyga Mozūraitė-Klemkienė, Klemensas Čerbulėnas, ceramist Gražina Stungurienė, and Prof. Jonas Mikėnas. Since 1972, Aldona Keturakienė has been taking part in exhibitions and symposia. She is a long-term member of the Lithuanian Artists’ Association. Her works have been exhibited in the republic of Ireland, Czechia, Denmark, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, France and Germany. She has been awarded a number of prizes.

The event is open to the public and will be filmed and photographed. By attending the event you agree to be featured in photographs and videos of the event and are informed that these photographs and videos may be made public.