Albinas Elskus (1926–2007) was a stained-glass artist, painter, dedicated educator, an inspired essayist, and a passionate sailor. After spending much of his life in exile in the United States, he became a legendary figure and one of the greatest authorities in the world of stained glass. In 2000, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Stained Glass Association of America, and his handbook for painting on glass, “The Art of Painting on Glass”, has been reprinted several times and is still considered the best study of the genre.

The artist, who began his career in large stained glass workshops in Chicago and New York, eventually established an independent stained glass studio in New York, creating large-scale stained glass for over a hundred shrines in the United States and Canada in a career spanning over half a century. Having understood the secrets of Gothic stained glass windows, the artist flooded American sanctuaries with a harmoniously arranged divine light, in which liturgical stories are depicted by combining classical principles of composition with quotes from modern abstract art, neorealism, the elements of heaven and earth, emotional and rational beginnings merge into a whole.

Albinas Elskus was constantly looking for new principles of composing stained glass and created experimental works in chamber format, in which classical painting intriguingly combines with pop art, photorealism, or expressive artwork. He was an unsurpassed master of fusing seemingly incompatible elements – a photorealistic portrait or a nature motif with abstract rhythmic structures. He studied old art and drew inspiration from it, but created for his time, paying respect to classical art with postmodernist quotes.

Assoc. prof. Žydrūnas Mirinavičius

The documentary film “The Divine Light” (2006), directed by Gytis Lukšas, will be shown at the exhibition.

Partners

Lithuanian National Museum of Art
M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art
Art Gallery of Beatričė Kleizaitė-Vasaris
Vilnius Auction
Auction ARS VIA
Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE
Vilnius Academy of Arts

Creative Team

Curator Žydrūnas Mirinavičius
Coordinator dr. Daiva Vaišnienė
Architect Gabrielė Černiavskaja
Production designer Donatas Beniulis
Graphic designer Justinas Dadonas
Educator Brigita Rimkutė
Restoration coordinator Julija Riškutė
Translator Jūratė Bačanskaitė
Communication Kristina Tamelytė

Our special thanks to:

Arilda Densch
Adria Elskus
Albin Elskus
Gytis Lukšas
Jūratė Lošienė
Consulate general of the Republic of Lithuania