Vaclovas Straukas (1923-2017) and Aleksandras Macijauskas (born 1938) relished the charm of the moment while capturing the seaside in photos. Today, while enjoying the art of these authors, it is we who experience the joy of wonder. But it is no longer the beauty of moments captured yesterday. Rather, it is the meeting of two time-validated artistic approaches, a conversation that has not yet taken place, in which we can all become observers and participants. The images featured in the exhibition transport us back to the 1970s and 1980s. Almost half a century later, they provide us with an opportunity to observe changes in nature and culture, and bear witness to the uninterrupted passage of the omnipotent time.

The photographers, who barely knew each other, had a common inclination to closely observe their surroundings, however they opted for different ways to fulfil their artistic visions. The tranquillity of nature, its slow pace, its meditative connection with the sun, the sea, the sand, all enticed Straukas. Macijauskas loved the summer beach bustle, full of action, shimmering with colours and sounds. The work of the two seaside chroniclers, woven into cycles throbbing with the rhythm of nature and life, resembles a coherent and at the same time multifaceted narrative of repose, inviting us to take a closer look, to feel, to perceive, and to listen.

Photos: Silvestras Samsonas, NML

The exhibition features photographs that were added to the collections of the National Museum of Lithuania in 2024, some of them being from the personal archive of Aleksandras Macijauskas.

Creative team: Jolanta Bernotaitytė, Povilas Jankūnas, Jurga Karosaitė, Njolė Laužikienė, Algina Vainilavičienė, Akvilė Matulionytė.