Reference: Jurgis Miksevicius - portraits real and imagined by Carolyn Leigh; Introduction by Roger Butler AM.
Portraits Real and Imagined is a survey of selected portraits by Jurgis Miksevicius (1923 – 2014) of people who sat for him, those he remembered and those he imagined.
‘His subjects, real and imagined, are transformed into symbols of something much deeper and unseen. People are not rendered as realistic images but as expressive representations of personality and emotions.’ Roger Butler AM.
Jurgis Miksevicius (1923-2014) was a Lithuanian émigré to Australia, arriving as a displaced person in 1948. He fled with his parents to Germany to escape the Soviet invasion and at the end of the war he studied Architecture and Fine Arts in Darmstadt, Germany. His artistic roots were in European art and Bauhaus principles which formed the foundation of his practice as an artist in Australia and a career spanning across seven decades. This exhibition presents one aspect of his diverse artistic legacy and celebrates his unique contribution to Australian cultural life.
Miksevicius lived and painted in Sydney from 1953 – 2004 and the Central Coast from 2004 – 2014. He was an art teacher and Head teacher in the New Sourth Wales Education Department from 1960 – 1983.
Roger Butler AM, Senior Curator, Australian Prints and Drawings, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, in his introduction to the recently published book by the curator of this exhibition, Carolyn Leigh, Jurgis Miksevicius – Portraits Real and Imagined, observes:
“Despite years of sustained involvement within the Australian art scene, Miksevicius chose to withdraw from this sphere in the early 1960s. An unfortunate corollary of this has been that Miksevicius has never received the recognition his worth deserves. While the impact of Lithuanian artists upon the Australian creative culture has been duly acknowledged, Miksevicius has been unjustly absent from this story. The decision to separate from the public art world, a space he viewed as controlled by competition and egotism, was hardly the end for Miksevicius. Rather it marked the beginning of a truly introspective and highly personal art production, the cornerstone of which was portraiture.
Every portrait involves the explicit and implicit construction of identity. Usually many parties are involved – the subject, the patron, the innumerable viewers, the artist least of all. Removed from external influences, Miksevicius was able to create art without the need to compromise or placate; a unique vantage point that few artists ever attain. Miksevicius’ portraits are unilateral expressions of self.
Too often it is only after an artist’s death that we are able to take stock and correctly acknowledge their place within broader art histories. Regardless of the delay, these revisions are incredibly important and illumination of Jurgis Miksevicius’ quiet but insatiable art practice is no exception.”
Miksevicius’ work is represented in the National Gallery of Australia, the Lithuanian Art Museum and national and international private collections.
‘Jurgis Miksevicius’ (1923 – 2014) interest in portraiture was not in physical likeness but to explore the characteristics of the subject’s personality and to extract their character. Commentaries by the artist through recorded conversations with his daughter, Carolyn Leigh, provide intimate insights into Miksevicius’ life, artistic practice, philosophy and specific portraits. More than 70 selected portraits by this Lithuanian Australian artist, including drawings, caricatures and paintings, illustrate Miksevicius’ lifetime exploration of colour and style to extract the essence of character through his portraits of people who sat for him, those he remembered and those he imagined. This biographical catalogue provides background information on Miksevicius' early life in Europe, and his family’s exile from Lithuania to Germany in 1941. It tells of his student days studying Art under a curriculum which followed Bauhaus principles at Lehrwerkstätten der bildenden Kunst, Künstlerkolonie Darmstadt [The Training Workshops of the Fine Arts, Darmstadt Artists' Colony (1945 – 1948). The text and selected images follow Miksevicius' immigration to Australia in 1948, where he found his way in the Australian art world and exhibited until the 1960s when he withdrew to focus on his own artistic goals and to become an art teacher with the NSW Department of Education. Miksevicius never stopped painting, leaving a rich legacy of nearly 70 years' work. While Jurgis Miksevicius’ oeuvre covers many genres -- portraits, landscapes, still life, abstracts, furniture, and murals -- this volume provides unique access to the essence of his portraiture.
Notes Includes bibliographical references (page 104).’
Publishing details: Carolyn Leigh, 2017. Can be viewed online at http://www.blurb.com/b/7260678-jurgis-miksevicius-portraits-real-and-imagined, hardback. Exhibition invite inserted.
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