Painting retrospective
Molėtai Art Gallery, Inturkės str. 4, Molėtai
2021 09 07 - 10 31
Opening date of the exhibition: September 8, Wednesday, 16:00
The work of the painter Henrikas Natalevičius simply radiates such descriptions as legendary, fantastical, fabulous or magical. The creator indeed has some magic on his palette as he demonstrates much more than the impressively delicate color combinations. What is incredible is that at first glance H. Natalevičius's colouring palette seems simply brownish-grayish but when given a more attentive look, the colors on the painting start flashing vividly in every possible halftones and nuances – just as if a rainbow would have appeared in grey and rainy day. There is also a similar situation in motives and plot paintings. When painting commonplace constructs like doors, stairs, streets, fences or people and their silhouttes, H. Natalevičius manages to form strange, surreal and phantasmagorical situations. By analogy these everyday objects turn into decorations or even characters of magic theater in the paintings – just like in a dream or a fantasy. This exhibition in Molėtai Art Gallery takes its visitors to the past and then brings them back to the present. It is a retrospective that sums up works of this famous and significant Lithuanian painter. Visitors are presented with works from various year that reflect the creative development of H. Natalevičius from notable times of “Five group” (also known as “kirmėlistai”) back in 80’s to our inspirable and colorful days.
Dr. Vidas Poškus
Henrikas Natalevičius was born in 1953, in Vilnius. He studied painting in the Vilnius Art Institute (now the Vilnius Academy of Arts) and his proffesors were Vladas Karatajus and Antanas Gudaitis. In his painting course also studied famous soon to be artists such as Mindaugas Skudutis, Raimondas Sližys, Bronius Gražys, Romanas Vilkauskas. Henrikas Natalevičius actively participated in various exhibitions together with them and they were informally called the “Five group”. In 1988 H. Natalevičius became a member of Lithuanian Union. From 1989 he exhibited his works together with artists group “24” and arranged solo exhibitions in Lithuania as well. In times of Reform Movement of Lithuania and in the first years of Independence of Lithuania he participated in main Lithuanian painters exhibitions abroad: in Finland (1986), Sweden (1988), Hungary (1989), Norway, “8 painters from Lithuania” exhibition (1990), Germany, “Apocalypse and faith” exhibition (1990) and more. In 2007 H. Natalevičius participated in Baltic states triennal in Vilnius and won first place. Lithuanian National Museum of Art in Vilnius, M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art in Kaunas and private collectors in Lithuania and abroad had purchased some of his works. Artist’s works also appear in private Norton Dodge Collection of Soviet Nonconformist Art (USA).