Lithuanian Printmakers in Woodcut Print Art Festival in Korea

The 11th Ulsan International Woodcut Print Art Festival

 

Curator: Mrs. Hyo Kim

Time: 18th July – 16th August, 2023
Location: Ulsan Museum, Ulsan, South Korea

The Biennale Steering Committee appointed prof. Kęstutis Vasiliūnas from Vilnius Academy of Arts to be director and one of the artists of the collection of woodcuts from Lithuania.

The Committee asked to collect woodcut prints of ten Lithuanian artists for the exhibition in Ulsan. Also write the text for the exhibition catalogue about woodcut prints in Lithuania and read a lecture on history of the Lithuanian woodcut print at the Conference.

It is a great honor and a great responsibility not only for me, as the curator of the Lithuanian collection, but also for Lithuania. Lithuanian woodcarving creators were invited to participate in international woodcut print exhibitions in Korea for the third time!

It is a pity that I could not be there and read the lecture on the history of Lithuanian woodcut prints. We missed a great opportunity to talk and promote Lithuanian culture and establish closer ties with creators from other countries.

Now, from the photos of the exhibition sent to me, I can only see how wonderful this exhibition is, and what I missed by not attending it. How many different works are exhibited in the exhibition, not only in terms of idea or narrative, but also how different wood carvings are technologically. Some prints are small, some are large. Some are in colorure, others are black and white, some are printed with water-based inks, others with oil printing inks. Not only the cutting the wood and printing methods are different, but also the materials and surfaces on which the woodcuts are printed: different types of paper, materials, canvas. A wonderful educational exhibition introducing the different traditions, principles and methods of woodcarving and woodcut printing in different countries.

It is one of the largest, if not the largest and most important woodcut print exhibitions in the world.

Graphic artists from Lithuania, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico and Taiwan were invited to the exhibition in addition to the hosts, Korean artists.

Sincere thanks to the exhibition organizers and exhibition curator Mrs. Hyo Kim, who discovered our small country in the ocean of the world, and invited us to share contemporary Lithuanian woodcut prints at the Ulsan Woodcut Print Art Festival.

Lithuanian printmakers who participate in the 11th Ulsan International Woodcut Print Art Festival:

Jonas Čepas
Liepa Gaidauskaitė
Joana Kairienė
Unė Kurtinaitytė
Evaldas Mikalauskis
Kristina Norvilaitė
Roberta Vaigeltaitė-V.
Kęstutis Vasiliūnas
Dainora Vingytė
Goda Zinevičiūtė

 

Prof. Kestutis Vasiliunas
Vilnius Academy of Arts

 

© Photos: Mrs. Hyo Kim
© Artist’s Book Creators, 2023