On 17 July at 6 pm, an exhibition will open at the Jacques Lipchitz Museum in Druskininkai ‘Jacques Lipchitz: Sculptures – Pilgrims’, dedicated to the 135th anniversary of the birth of the world-renowned Litvak sculptor Jacques Lipchitz. This collection was donated to the Valencia Institute of Modern Art by the Lipchitz family, so its presentation in Lithuania during the artist’s anniversary year also marks a symbolic homecoming.

Born in Druskininkai, having decided to become an artist in Vilnius, having matured in Paris, and having found inspiration in Spain – Jacques Lipchitz’s entire life and work are marked by travel. The fate of this acclaimed artist’s works is one of perpetual travel – from the studio to a private collection, from one country’s museum to another. Lipchitz’s works are eternal pilgrims of art – this time they are travelling to the sculptor’s birthplace from the collection of the Institute of Contemporary Art of Valencia (IVAM): eight sculptures will be on display in Vilnius, and four in Druskininkai.

The exhibition is centred on works from the IVAM collection, created from the early 1930s to the mid-1950s. They reveal the different stages of Lipchitz’s creative development: from stricter Cubist forms to more sculptural, open and dramatic compositions.

The artist himself once said: “I learnt sculpture in the churches of Vilnius. They still stand before my eyes. And for me, sculpture simply had to be white back then.’ The city’s architecture, the Baroque churches—particularly the sculptural ensembles of St Peter and St Paul’s Church— and his lessons at the Vilnius School of Drawing formed the early foundation for the artist, who later translated the language of Cubism into sculpture. Consequently, Druskininkai and Vilnius naturally emerge as two biographical axes in the exhibition: Druskininkai – a place of birth, family and memory; Vilnius – the city where the young Lipchitz studied and chose the path of an artist.

In Druskininkai, visitors will see four sculptures complementing the exhibition at the Jacques Lipchitz Museum, which opened in April, whilst in Vilnius, at the Samuel Bak Museum, eight sculptures will be on display, along with a section dedicated to Lipchitz’s relationship with Vilnius, complemented by photographs by Jan Bułhak, quotes from the artist and a narrative about the city at the start of the 20th century, where the future sculptor’s vision took shape.

The exhibition offers a unique opportunity to see Lipchitz’s works in plaster, terracotta and other raw, delicate materials. They retain the traces of the sculptor’s handiwork: surface irregularities, fingerprints and adjustments to the form. This is a rare chance to see how the artist worked and to witness the journey from model to bronze sculpture.

Lipchitz is known worldwide as one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century modern sculpture, a pioneer of Cubist sculpture and a member of the Paris avant-garde. He worked in Europe and America, associating with the giants of modernism such as Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Diego Rivera, Amadeo Modigliani, Marcel Duchamp and others. In Paris, Lipchitz was a regular at the legendary artists’ residence ‘La Ruche’ (“The Beehive”), created decorative compositions for Coco Chanel’s interiors and sculptures for Count Charles de Noailles’ gardens, and actively participated in international exhibitions. His monumental sculptures now stand in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Jerusalem and other locations around the world. Yet the beginning of his creative journey lay in Lithuania.

The exhibition ‘Jacques Lipchitz. Sculptures – Pilgrims’ invites you to return to the starting points of his creative journey – Druskininkai and Vilnius – and to rediscover an artist whom the world already recognises as a classic of modern sculpture. After all, the world already knows him – discover him for yourself.

The exhibition runs until 22 November.

Venues: The Samuel Bak Museum (10 Naugarduko Street, Vilnius) and the Jacques Lipchitz Museum (17 Šv. Jokūbo Street, Druskininkai)

The exhibition is organised by the Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History

The exhibition is funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania

Partners: the Institute of Contemporary Art of Valencia (IVAM), the Museum of Jewish Art and History in Paris, the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, the National Museum of Lithuania, the Druskininkai Rotary Club ‘Sūrutis’, Vilnius City Council, Druskininkai Town Council, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Lithuania, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID)

Media partners: LRT, Go Vilnius