Ritual Nature

Ritual (from Latin ritualis – ceremonial) in religion refers to an established order of ceremonial actions through which the sacred is worshipped. Ritual is one of the main elements of religious practice.

Cultus Arborum (the Cult of Trees), according to critic Aleksis Rannit, is one of the most beautiful forms of worship of the universe, which in Lithuania has reached especially gentle and lyrical artistic expression.

“Plants and humans were connected by mystical ties, as both carried a similar life force. According to ancient beliefs, trees have blood and can speak…”

(Marija Gimbutas, Ancient Symbolism in Lithuanian Folk Art, 1958)

The exhibition presents landscapes created by the artist Adomas Galdikas (1893–1969) during his years in exile. After his forced emigration to Germany in 1944, influenced by movements of lyrical abstraction and East Asian spontaneous ink painting, his landscapes began to be painted using tempera, watercolour and gouache techniques, while also developing the popular East Asian theme of the seasons. Critic Waldemar George stated that Galdikas’ Schwarzwald landscapes painted in Freiburg are brilliant, conveying the Lithuanian spirit and reflecting the artist’s inner state.

Nature was Galdikas’ greatest source of inspiration and even in exile he maintained a close connection with forests. Experiencing longing for his homeland, he repeatedly returned in his landscapes to symbolic motifs of the Lithuanian natural environment revived in his imagination. Unexpected patches of colour and the rebellious rhythm of dramatic lines reveal the raw beauty of nature. By depicting manifestations of supernatural forces, the artist conveys the divine essence of nature and reveals a vision of distant, mysterious Lithuania.

From 1952, after moving from Paris to New York, Galdikas was influenced by the environment of abstract expressionism. Emotional brushstrokes became even more pronounced. He began painting with a palette knife (a wooden spatula), developing a textured, impasto surface that had not been characteristic of his earlier style and intensifying his experimentation with colour.

In increasingly abstract compositions, symbolic natural images are still visible at first, but in his later work they transform into energetic processes of natural forces within bursts of bright colour. Suddenly, the gaze rises from the earthly dimension to the vast spaces of the sky and cosmos.

Immerse yourself…