Čiurlionis

What is a fairytale, what is reality?
What is light, what is darkness?
What is a moment, what is eternity?
What is a pearl, what is a dew drop?

Kazys Bradūnas (Second Fugue from "Sonatas and Fugues. Meetings with Čiurlionis", 1967)

"No one knows what dramas were raging in Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis’ soul, what images and sounds agitated his imagination. We know only one thing – his visions, preserved forever in paintings, musical scores, letters and photographs, carry a profound amount of light. To me, Čiurlionis’ works never seemed to be dark or hopeless. Yes, they do include a great deal of tragedy, premonition, outwardly gloomy warnings, and yet the bigger part of his creations worship the demons of light, goodness and love."

~ Giedrius Kuprevičius

"The artistic legacy of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis is unquestioned, astonishing and unique. From the point of view of someone who is creating the spectacle, I still tried to find a different viewing angle. I didn’t need Čiurlionis – the Icon, or Čiurlionis – the Myth. What I was interested in was Čiurlionis – Human Being, made from flesh and blood just as everyone of us; someone who has feelings and a unique perception of the world. What was he thinking of, what was he feeling? What were his inspirations, dreams, hopes? What were the goals, fears, what was he trying to avoid? Eventually, why wasn’t he able to conquer the darkness that was forming clouds over his head? I tried to find the answers to these questions in various traces that he left behind – memoirs, personal correspondence, yellowed photographs, sketches drawn by his own hand. With the help of these details I created my own personalized image of Čiurlionis."

~ Robert Bondara