Painting exhibition "Prisoner of Kaukazas" by Vytautas Dubauskas

The painting exhibition Prisoner of Kaukazas by Vytautas Dubauskas will be on view at the Šiauliai Art Gallery from 10 July to 1 August 2026.

The exhibition opens on Friday, 10 July, at 5:00 p.m.

Admission to the gallery is free during the opening event.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

When I left my hometown of Šiauliai in 1974 to study in Kaunas, I caught myself feeling like some kind of a prisoner. I simply couldn’t—and didn’t want to—forget my city, my friends, my girls… A completely different stage of life had begun, a time of growing up and becoming more aware of myself. Yet I could never forget my hometown of Šiauliai, my neighbourhood Kaukazas with its little pond and beach, the woods, the old Jewish cemetery, the metal factory, Lake Talša, and Secondary School No. 10. Nor did I want to. Because I realised that everything had started there.

I spent ten long years studying art, always returning home to my parents and my brother, who supported me both materially and emotionally. That is why I dedicate this exhibition to their bright memory, as well as to all the dear people of Šiauliai whom I have had the privilege of meeting throughout my life. Thank you.

A few words about my art. As I have mentioned before, music had the greatest influence on me. I sang in the Šiauliai Boys’ Choir at the Pioneers’ House near the park and graduated from the children’s music school, where I studied the oboe. That was my foundation. Then came rock music! Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Monkees, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, T. Rex, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, Uriah Heep, and many others. That wave rose around 1968 and carried me all the way until 1990.

The visual arts are also a journey taken step by step. I was fortunate to have many wonderful teachers and like-minded companions. For example, I shared a flat in Kaunas for two years with the late Šiauliai ceramic artist Gintaras Martinionis. The ARS group was my first major point of departure. From their legacy I moved toward my own path—through expressionism and into abstraction. I want to be free and independent. You may judge me. (Even so, I remain a prisoner of my Kaukazas.)

— Vytautas Dubauskas