Antanas Sutkus (b1939) from Lithuania was one of the photographers I met and saw his work for the first time when I went to Bielsko-Biala in 2005 for their first FotoArtFestival, though while I saw his show there, I unfortunately missed his presentation as I was getting ready for my own.
One of the better aspects of the countries on the other side of the Iron Curtain was their support for the arts, although it was not always entirely beneficial. There was a huge emphasis on cultural activities, with concert halls, large galleries and museum, but also censorship, and artists had to tread an often difficult line between their personal aspirations and interests and the state’s idea of what literature, music or the visual arts should be.
Sutkus it tell us in his brief biography at the RussianTeaRooms gallery “realized more than 120 works. Major works: Lithuanian People (1959); Lithuania from a Bird’s Eye (1973–1980); Meetings with Bulgaria (1972–1979); Lithuanians of the World (1991–1994); Nostalgia for Bare Feet (1959–1979); Pro Memoria: To the Living Martyrs of Kaunas’ Ghetto (1994–1997); Past Times (1999)” and from the various positions he held and awards he gained flourished both when his country was under Soviet control and after the end of Russian domination.
From his photography we can see that he was able to pursue a strong personal view despite censorship and restrictions. There are two sets of pictures on the RTR site, one of the visit to his country of Jean Paul Sartre and the second ‘Miscellaneous’. While the most striking of the Sartre images have a strong formal appeal, it is in the other set that his love for people stands out, particularly in an image of his Aunt Agota, running down the path towards his camera.
The Russiantearoom Gallery in Paris is now the Galerie LIZA FETISSOVA, and “Je t’aime” by Antanas Sutkus opens here on 6 March 2019 until March 29. The gallery page quotes Sutkus “To photograph people, you have to love them” and in their text for the show sums up his work well:
Antanas Sutkus (born 1939) captured love as a man, humanist, photographer, patriot. His native country, his Lithuania and its people, proud and resistant to the Soviet invasion, inspired him so much love, that every image breathes it, radiates it … Gives it away.
The same text with a slightly different set of pictures is on the Eye of Photography page which alerted me to this show. You can also see some of his work at the White Space Gallery. His official web site has a considerable amount of writing, some in English, but I could find no pictures.
Tags: Antanas Sutkus, Galerie LIZA FETISSOVA, Lithuania, photographer