Vladas Urbanavičius
Vladas Urbanavičius is one of the most significant Lithuanian sculptors of the 21th century, whose work has made a substantial contribution to the development of contemporary Lithuanian sculpture. He creates monumental, laconic forms that explore the relationship between sculpture and its environment, scale, and the viewer. His artistic practice is characterized by minimalism and by the transformation of industrial materials often marked by the passage of time and found objects into autonomous spatial bodies that deliberately distance themselves from decorativeness and conventional notions of beauty. Works by Urbanavičius such as “Hanging Stones” in Taikos Av. in Kaunas, “Quay’s Arch” on the embankment of the Neris River in Vilnius or “Club” in the MO Museum Sculpture Park, have today become an inseparable part of the cultural landscape of Lithuanian cities.
Vladas Urbanavičius (b. 1951) graduated from sculpture studies at the Art Institute (now the Vilnius Academy of Arts) in 1977. Since 1978, he has participated in exhibitions and outdoor sculpture symposiums in Lithuania. The sculptor has been recognized with awards and prizes: the Lithuanian National Culture and Art Prize (2015), the III Prize of the Vilnius Telecenter Defenders Monument Competition (1991), the I Prize at the Lithuanian Contemporary Art Quadrennial (2005), the Golden Mark of the Lithuanian Artists‘ Union (2006). The artist‘s works have been acquired by private and museum collections in Lithuania and beyond.