In May 2024, Stasys returns to his home village of Lepši in Panevėžys district. It is now that the Stasys Museum in Panevėžys has opened its doors to the public. And who could have imagined such a future here, in a small village, in a dilapidated wooden building with a leaky roof, full of mooing and mooing animals, where no tales from the parents could be heard. Just an hour's walk from Lepši, in the centre of Panevėžys, a white rectangular building stands proudly. The buildings of the Stasys family homestead could fit inside the new museum, just like Lego bricks or the "jewels" put together by children fit inside a matchbox. The old homestead fell into disrepair many years ago. Now there is only emptiness...
But the objects and memories have not gone anywhere. They are still there - vivid and frozen in Stasys' memories: the house, the well, the spade, the rake, the scythe, the ladder, the wagon wheel, the pile of straw...
The place of his childhood was a place that was somehow bleak, but at the same time thought-provoking and inspirational. Little Stasys always found ways to escape into his world of imagination and creativity. He used found objects, such as the wire of a chain-link fence or straw from the barn, to create imaginative characters for play. These characters inspired him and, years later, became the motifs of his works, later called one-line drawings.
Stasis Eidrigevičius, a visual artist and multi-instrumentalist, is constantly coming up with unique ideas, which require a wide range of artistic expressions, not just pencil and paper. The free choice of creative tools gives rise to Stasys' unique paintings, posters, illustrations, pastels, graphics, drawings, watercolours, sculptures, installations, photography, performances, stage design, costumes, texts, directing and even acting. His work mainly depicts bodies with human qualities, sometimes supplemented by household or farm tools representing body parts. His work is also rich in animal and architectural motifs. Stasys' human-like creatures are often without limbs. However, they are still able to move and be alive with the help of other people, objects, plants or animals, even though they remain quite constrained and limited. The artist's subjects and objects merge into a seamless, unbroken chain.
His childhood was a kind of gloomy place, but at the same time provocative and inspiring. Little Stasys always found ways to escape into his world of imagination and creativity. He used found objects, such as the wire of a chain-link fence or straw from the barn, to create imaginative characters for play. These characters inspired him and, years later, became the motifs of his works, later called one-line drawings.
Stasis Eidrigevičius, a visual artist and multi-instrumentalist, is constantly coming up with unique ideas, which require a wide range of artistic expressions, not just pencil and paper. The free choice of creative tools gives rise to Stasys' unique paintings, posters, illustrations, pastels, graphics, drawings, watercolours, sculptures, installations, photography, performances, stage design, costumes, texts, directing and even acting. His work mainly depicts bodies with human qualities, sometimes supplemented by household or farm tools representing body parts. His work is also rich in animal and architectural motifs. Stasys' human-like creatures are often without limbs. However, they are still able to move and be alive with the help of other people, objects, plants or animals, even though they remain quite constrained and limited. The artist's subjects and objects merge into a seamless, unbroken chain.
The title of the exhibition by Stasys Eidrigevičius, ICON-O-STASYS, may sound enigmatic, but it is rendered in a playful form. Several interpretations are offered, which can be followed, but the title of the exhibition can be perceived by everyone in their own way. We can say "icon" or "icono" Stasys, but in the end we will still recognise the meaning of the word icon. But when we separate the O, it takes on a different meaning - an association with a face or an eye painted in a primitivist style. Both of these elements are prominent in Stasys' work. They can also mark a point of intersection - Stasys and the viewer, or the viewer and the museum.
PICTURED: Insecure Kiss. Paper, pastel, 239×152 cm, 1995.