Young Baltic Artists’ Competition

Linas Kaziulionis, winner of the 2022 Young Painter’s Prize
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Winner: Lithuanian Muralist Linas Kaziulionis 

This year, for the fourteenth time, young artists from across the artistic fields took part in the Young Painter’s Prize (YPP) competition. Traditionally, artists from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia submit their works for the competition. This year, YPP also extended the invitation to the young Ukrainian artists currently residing in Lithuania, Latvia, or Estonia. The exhibition of the finalists’ works will be on display at the Vilnius Picture Gallery until the end of January 2023.

The YPP project aims to support dynamic new art and showcase the brightest and most promising young painters from the Baltic states. Its goal is also to help both local and international art professionals – collectors, managers, and curators – discover new talent from the Baltic states and promote emerging artists.

The winner of the competition receives a two-month residency in Iceland, a cash prize of 3,000 euros, and an opportunity to hold two solo shows at the H gallery in Paris, and Pamėnkalnio Gallery in Vilnius. The YPP winner’s artwork will also be included in the painting collection at the Lithuanian National Museum of Art and will be stored in the National Gallery of Art in Vilnius.

YPP applicants are traditionally assessed by an international jury of art world professionals, including established artists, art critics, curators, gallerists, and art collectors. This year’s jury chose fifteen artists from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine as the YPP finalists.

The 14th YPP winner, Linas Kaziulionis, was announced on November 18, when the jury gathered in Vilnius. The exhibition opening and the awards ceremony took place on the same day at the Vilnius Art Gallery.

Linas Kaziulionis is a Lithuanian, and founder of the creative studio K ART 7 in the historical centre of Vilnius. His style is unique because he combines classic studies with a passion for the street world: the result is interesting for its conceptual depth and freshness. His murals play with the history of art icons, such as Gioconda or Lady with an Ermine, to update and bring them closer to the public, these characters are often enriched with accessories and contemporary objects such as headphones or pop elements like polka dots. The artist’s intent is to bring a young audience closer to classical and renaissance world, so street art becomes the most appropriate form of artistic expression.

Kaziulionis feels that street art has a wider audience than art shown in galleries. Gallery visitors usually know about the art they intend to see at a gallery. Street art is a surprise and can affect many people in many ways.

Mural by Linas Kaziulionis