On Friday, July 17, at 6 p.m., Kęstutis Zapkus’s exhibition “Paintings and Drawings” will open at the KADS Baroti Gallery (2 Didžioji Vandens St./1 Aukštoji St., Klaipėda).

“Kęstutis Zapkus is one of the most important Lithuanian painters living in the United States and a representative of abstract art. K. Zapkus was born in 1938 in Lithuania; in 1944, he fled westward with his mother, and in 1947, he emigrated to the United States, where he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, at Syracuse University, and later in Paris. In 1989, he organized the exhibition “Children of War” at the Contemporary Art Center in Vilnius. In 1992, Kęstutis Zapkus came to teach at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. He taught for half a year, but the legend he created lives on to this day. In 2014, he was awarded the title of Honorary Professor of the Vilnius Academy of Arts.

For decades, Kęstutis Zapkus has critically examined painting as a non-hierarchical, semiotic field, emphasizing the structural complexity of the painting, the simultaneity of the concept, and the depth of its experience. The artist’s works have been exhibited at prestigious galleries around the world—the Brooklyn Museum, the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. In 2014, a retrospective of his works was held for the first time in Lithuania, at the National Art Gallery (NDG) in Vilnius. In 2023–2024, the “Meno Parkas” gallery presented Kęstutis Zapkus’s works at the Toruń Center for Contemporary Art, the Latvian Academy of Art in Riga, the “Artissima” (Turin), “Vienna Contemporary” (Vienna), and the 9th World Samogitian Art Exhibition in Plungė. In 2025, the artist’s works were added to the M. K. Čiurlionis National Collection.

Throughout his life, the artist has remained strictly committed to abstraction, using a pure visual language devoid of figurative elements, while the structure of his works is more reminiscent of a musical composition. His works draw the viewer into complex layers of color, space, and movement. Kęstutis Zapkus’s approach to painting remains highly individual; he refuses to conform to dominant art movements, yet draws inspiration from music, architecture, and historical or cultural events. For Kęstutis Zapkus, painting is an intellectual experience that unfolds through an intense interaction with form.

Following his previous exhibitions at the “Meno Parkas” Gallery in 2023 and at the Artists’ Union Gallery in 2025, and in light of the ongoing evolution and relevance of his work, we are continuing our collaboration. His more recent works, presented in this exhibition, return to themes that have been central to the artist’s practice for decades. The goal of the “Meno Parkas” Gallery is—both through this exhibition as well as through future exhibitions, to gradually reveal a collection of works, providing an opportunity to become acquainted with Kęstutis Zapkus’s latest artistic explorations.” / Dovilė Morkūnaitė-Žilinskė /

Exhibition dates: July 17 – August 15, 2026

Exhibition organizers: “Meno Parkas” Gallery, Klaipėda County Artists’ Union.

The project is funded by: the Lithuanian Council for Culture and the Klaipėda City Municipality.

Patrons of the KADS Baroti Gallery: UAB “Stemma Group,” UAB “Vakarų Medienos Grupė.”