Cubist Composition

The painting by V. Kairiūkštis from 1921 titled "Cubist Composition" displays the main directions of avantgarde art of the early 20th century – cubism and suprematism. The younger generation of artists from that time were no longer satisfied by the opportunities for expression liberated from academism and historiocism that had been developed by the forefathers of modern and avantgarde art in the late 19th-century, namely, the representatives of realism, symbolism and impressionism. This younger generation of artists from various European countries searched for new means of expression that would allow them to convey the dynamic and changing spirit of the age. This gave rise to cubism in France, futurism in Italy, and suprematism in Russia. The young figures promoting this avantgarde style were P. Picasso, F. T. Marinetti, K. Malevich, among others, who both intuitively and consistently aimed to penetrate past the visual level and reveal the emotional level behind it, which, according to them, was not intended for recognition of the object being depicted, but was based on pure aesthetic experiences.A pioneer of 20th-century avantgarde art in Lithuania, V. Kairiūkštis learnt of the new art trends whilst in Moscow where he had been studying at the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture since 1917, later attending the Higher Artistic-Technical Workshops (VKHUTEMAS). During his studies in Moscow he became aquainted with the Polish avantgarde artist W. Strzeminski and other young avantgardists, with whom he later cooperated in publishing and organizing exhibitions of the new art style, and other creative fields.

In the years 1921–1932, V. Kairiūkštis lived and worked in Vilnius where he was very productive, organized new art shows, and even engaged in teaching. This stage of the painter’s life and creativity is considered to be the most prominent in his career. The works V. Kairiūkštis created during this period, including the painting Cubist Composition, are characterized by the bold cubism and suprematism inspired ideas: both the visual recognition of objects and the theme of the work are done away with; the focus is placed on the work’s aesthetic expression, which in this painting is based on painted overlaying geometrically-abstacted and mutually gently constrasting planes, creating the illusion of transparency and multiple planes. The idea for this particular composition lies with V. Kairiūkštis’ contemporary, the founder of geometrical abstractation and art theoretician K. Malevich, who looked at the comprehension of an image: according to K. Malevich, objects embody a multitude of moments in time. That is why at different moments, the same objects can always be seen in a different light and a different way, always taking a different shape.