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Lithuanians in the News
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18th April 2010
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| 100 Year Anniversary of Australian-Lithuanian Graphic Artist Vaclovas Ratas – Rataiskis |
The Ratas exhibition will open in Kaunas at the M.K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum May 7 – June 13, then it will travel to the Vytautas Kazimieras Jonynas Gallery in Druskininkai June 17 – July 4 and it will conclude at the Radvila Palace Gallery of the Lithuanian Art Museum in Vilnius July 9 – August 29. Ratas was born in Lithuania, graduated from Kaunas Art School in 1935 and became an established printmaker, before being forced to leave Lithuania in 1944 during World War II. He migrated to Australia in 1949, initially settling in Perth and then in 1954 moving to Sydney, where he died in 1973. He was a pioneering printmaker and was the force behind the mounting of the First Australian Graphic Art Exhibition in Sydney in 1960 - the first of its kind in Australia. This led to the Sydney Printmakers Society being founded soon after in 1961, with Ratas becoming a key founding member. Ratas' work is represented in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, major Australian State Art Galleries, Lithuanian Art Museums, as well as internationally. Further information: Please see on this website Culture/ Arts/ Vaclovas Ratas |