Exhibition “I Often Forget” by Jonas Kulikauskas
The solo exhibition “I Often Forget” by interdisciplinary artist Jonas Kulikauskas will be opened on February 25th, Wednesday, at 6 p.m. in the VMU Art Gallery “101” (Muitines st. 7, Kaunas). Kulikauskas will participate and give the tour in the exhibition.
Kulikauskas, whose practice is deeply inspired by his Lithuanian heritage, family, and faith, brings history into sharp contemporary focus. “I Often Forget” is a photographic exploration of layers of time embedded in everyday spaces. In a period of rising anti-Semitism, Kulikauskas mounted a World War II–era designed lens onto a large-format 8 × 10 camera and captured images of present-day life (2021) in what was once the territory of the Vilna Ghetto.
Through hauntingly resonant photographs and installations, the exhibition engages with themes of the Holocaust, historical omission, ethnic nationalism, and cultural desecration, inviting viewers to reflect on memory and the persistence of history in modern landscapes. The exhibition also honors the Great Synagogue of Vilna and memorializes the victims murdered at Ponary Forest.
The “I Often Forget” project is supported in part by 2413 Hyperion Gallery, the Fulbright Program, the Puffin Foundation, the Ronald H. Silverman Fine Arts Gallery, University of California, Los Angeles, and the Užupis Art Incubator, Vilnius, Lithuania. Contributors include Dr. Jon Seligman, Dr. Saulius Sužiedėlis, Tomas Venclova, Cantor Rita Glassman, and the Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History (Vilnius, Lithuania).
The Exhibition will be until March 20.
Jonas Kulikauskas is an interdisciplinary artist whose work is shaped by his American-Lithuanian heritage, family, and faith. His research-based practice critically examines communities, traditions, and institutions, with recurring themes of historical omission, identity, and kindness.
Kulikauskas is an award-winning artist with work held in the permanent collections of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution and the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art. He taught at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California (2002–2022), received a Fulbright award in 2021, and is currently a long-term artist-in- residence at the Užupis Art Incubator in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Exhibition organisers: VMU Art Gallery “101”
Contributed: Saulius Sužiedelis, Jon Seligman, Tomas Venclova, Rita Glassman, Dovid Katz, Vilniaus Gaono žydų istorijos muziejus
Vilnius Great Synagogue and Schulhoif (Vilnius) Research, Excavation, Conservation and Memorial Project Team:
Jonas Seligmanas, Zenonas Baubonis, Justinas Račas and the Cultural Heritage Preservation Force Team
Translator: Vilius Jakubčionis
Sponsors:
„U.S. Fulbright Foundation“
„The Puffin Foundation, Ltd“
„Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency grant“
Special thanks: Užupis Art Incubator, Liana Jagniatinsky, Lara Lempertienė, Judaic Research Center, VMU Art Gallery “101” (Milda Gineikaitė, council and volunteers of the gallery)
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Exhibition Information:
• Exhibition Dates: February 25 – March 20, 2026.
• Opening Reception: Wednesday, February 25, 6 p.m.
• Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Special Appointments: Available upon request by emailing Jonas Kulikauskas at jonas@kulikauskas.com
