Exhibition

Vaclav Rat's way of life and work spans several continents: from Europe to Australia and the United States, leaving a strong mark everywhere, especially beyond the equator. The artist came to Australia, already an experienced graphic artist who formed his own style. Around 1957, after acquiring Australian citizenship, he changed his surname to the shorter form "Circle", which he had used before as a creative pseudonym. During his twenty-three years in Australia, the artist has established himself in the history of a vast country of graphics. Together with like-minded people, he brought together Australian graphic artists for the first post-war all-Australian graphic art exhibition, was one of the creators of the Sydney Printmakers, was a member of the Australian Contemporary Art Society, and participated in exhibitions of these societies. The artist was active in the cultural press of the Lithuanian community in Australia. After compiling and publishing the album Eleven Lithuanian Artists in Australia, he became the first professional chronicler and promoter of Lithuanian art in Australia. V. Rato's talent was formed by the Lithuanian school of graphics. Together with Viktoras Petravičius, Paulius Augius-Augustinavičius and Telesforas Valius, according to Kazys Bradūnas, V. Ratas belonged to the “big four” - the group of the four most significant Lithuanian graphic artists of the interwar period. All of them are students of the same Kaunas School of Art and Professor Adam Galdik 's graphic studio, who created the basics of Lithuanian graphics during the interwar period. Rato's individual style changed radically in emigration, he was influenced by the currents of European art modernism, especially the different nature and wildlife of Australia, permeated with mythical beliefs, and the traditional motifs of Aboriginal art.


Curators: dr. Tojana Račiūnaitė and Regina Urbonienė