Press releases

VILNIS, 29 April (BelTA) – The international art project Leon Bakst’s Time and Art will enrich the cultural spaces of several countries, Vladimir Schastny, the curator of the exhibition, told a press conference on the occasion of the opening of the exhibition in Vilnius, BelTA has learnt.

“Apart form the presentation of the works of the artist who was a native of Grodno, the international project reminds us of the common cultural space of Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland and encourages us to think of the ways to develop this space and cross-fertilize it,” Vladimir Schastny said.

According to Chairman of the Board of Directors of Belgazprombank Viktor Babariko, arranging such exhibitions is the beginning of the work to develop some kind of ecosystems. Each of us is an individual, but we all share a certain ecosystem which includes business and art, he said.

The international project dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of world-famous artist, stage set and costume designer Leon Bakst started in the National Art Museum of Belarus on 9 February this year. As part of the project Minsk hosted a series of thematic lectures, curatorial excursions, movie club gatherings, presentation of the essay “Leon Bakst: Firebird’s Life” by Vladimir Schastny.

The expo features works of different genres, from paintings to costume and set designs. All in all, it is composed of over 200 works from the museums of Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Russia. The expo also includes seven works by the artist from the collection of Belgazprombank, the owner of the largest private collection of Leon Bakst's easel works in Eastern and Central Europe. One of the most famous exhibits is the painting “Bathers on the Lido, Venice” bought from an English collector. It also features lithographic printings from the holdings of the National Art Museum, the set and costume designs from the Saint Petersburg State Museum of Theater and Music.

The expo will be running in Vilnius until 26 June and then will travel to Riga.