National Gallery of Art
Twentieth and twenty-first century Lithuanian art in a rebuilt 1980 modernist block by the Neris.
The National Gallery of Art is the twentieth and twenty-first century branch of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art. It occupies a long concrete and glass block on the right bank of the Neris that was built in 1980 by Gediminas Baravykas as the Museum of the Revolution of the Lithuanian SSR. After Lithuania regained independence the building stood largely unused until a reconstruction led by Audrius Bucas, Darius Caplinskas and Gintaras Kuginys reopened it as an art gallery in 2009.
The permanent display traces Lithuanian art from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present, with rooms devoted to interwar modernism, the Soviet decades and contemporary practice. Temporary exhibitions occupy the larger halls and often address architecture, photography and design as well as painting and sculpture. The gallery also houses a reading room, an auditorium used for talks and screenings, and an open forecourt with sculpture; the glazed river frontage gives views across the water to the Old Town.
Highlights
- Permanent survey of Lithuanian art from 1900 to the present day
- 1980 modernist building reworked for gallery use in 2009
- Large temporary exhibition halls for art, design and architecture
- Riverside forecourt with outdoor sculpture and Old Town views
