The Ex Libris Exhibition Commemorating the Centenary of Lithuania
On the eve of February 16, the most significant date in the history of Lithuania, the ex libris exhibition “Ex Libris. Restored Lithuania 100” was opened at Šiauliai county Povilas Višinskis public library. In spring of 2017, after announcing the international ex libris contest, hundreds of invitations were sent to Lithuanians, emigrants and foreign citizens to remember Lithuania and commemorate the 100th anniversary of the restoration of Lithuania by their works. About 400 ex libris from 35 countries have been gathered for this exhibition. Ex libris came not only from neighboring countries but also from distant parts of the world – Japan, India, China, Mexico, South Africa, etc. Bookplates reflect events of the restored Lithuania, personalities, and institutions. These works are an important part of contemporary visual art to Lithuania and its history, which continue the traditions of ex libris art, history and culture in Lithuania for 500 years already.
The catalogue presentation and award ceremony of the international Ex libris contest-exhibition “Ex Libris. Restored Lithuania 100” took place on November 17, 2018.
Exhibition-Book “Ex Libris. Restored Lithuania 100”
“Ex Libris. Restored Lithuania 100” is an innovative exhibition created to commemorate the centenary of the restoration of Lithuania, is adapted for various exposition spaces. It is a 100 page, 7.4 kilogram (35x36x13 cm), bound only with the string artistic book, which features 376 works of ex libris creators from Lithuania and abroad. A special idea of this exhibition-book was implemented by a master of artistic bookbinding Leonora Kuisienė. She arranged exhibit items on separate sheets and created a leather cover by applying the old bookbinding techniques and decorations of XIV-XVI centuries. This is how the artist describes her work: “The book is bound using the long-stitch bookbinding technique. It is a method when pages remain loose, non-glued, and sections are simply bound to the leather cover. The cover of the book is made of thick, belted, vegetable tanning leather. The cover is decorated with ancient decorating technique – skin engraving without using any decorative clichés or press. Certain decorative details are made with skin cutters. The leather is coloured, tinted and hand-varnished. ”
