Image: M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum, Kaunas
The M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art in Kaunas will host the launch of the new publication ‘Gražina Didelytė’ on 17 September 2026, bringing renewed attention to a major figure in Lithuanian graphic art. The public event will begin at 17:00 in the museum’s Music Hall.
The discussion will feature Rimantė Tamoliūnienė, the publication’s editor and an art historian, and Jūratė Veteikytė, its designer and layout artist. Dr Iveta Dabašinskienė, curator of the museum’s graphic-art collection, will moderate the conversation.
Didelytė (1938–2007) is presented by the museum as an important Lithuanian graphic artist whose practice was defined by a highly developed command of etching and a distinctive, subtle manner. Her work is marked by metaphorical and poetic expression, as well as sustained attention to fundamental questions of human existence, ancestral land and the beauty of the universe.
The publication gathers a broad selection of work that reflects those qualities. It includes etchings, book illustrations and drawings, alongside works made using the artist’s own techniques. It also features autobiographical material created in the style of a graphic novel. Together, these works document the range of Didelytė’s graphic language without reducing it to a single medium or subject.
Among the publication’s distinctive elements is a reproduction of Didelytė’s work ‘Linkėjimai’. Recreated using kongrevas, or a raised impression, the image appears as a removable miniature. Didelytė sent the work to people close to her, and the edition allows readers to take the miniature out of the book and preserve it separately.
The launch gives the museum an occasion to present Didelytė’s work through both its individual visual character and the varied forms represented in the book. Her refined etching technique remains central to the account, while the inclusion of illustrations, drawings, artist’s techniques and graphic-novel-style egodocumentation broadens the picture of her practice. The event is open to the public and will take place on 17 September at the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art in Kaunas.
