The Art of Juozas and Rasa Saldaitis

LITUANUS

LITHUANIAN QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Volume 41, No.2 - Summer 1995
Editor of this issue: Antanas Klimas, University of Rochester

ISSN 0024-5089
Copyright © 1995 LITUANUS Foundation, Inc.

THE ART OF JUOZAS AND RASA SALDAITIS

ALGIMANTAS KEZYS

Juozas Saldaitis

Rasa Saldaitis

The ceramics created by a husband and wife team display ingenuity in both structure and ethnic ornamentation. Juozas Saldaitis (b. 1959) and Rasa Saldaitis (b. 1965) attended the same schools of art in Vilnius and Leningrad (now St. Peterburg), they both participated in the annual exhibitions by the young artists in Šiauliai, they both worked on joint projects and in 1991 established their own company "Ugnė" specializing in decorative ceramics. They married and, in 1994, with their two children moved to the United States, settling in Chicago.

Their art does not come from the same mold. Each has individuality and distinctiveness in heir approach to ceramic art. Juozas tends to emphasize the architectural and constructivist elements and incorporates other materials in his ceramics such as wood and strings. While emphasizing large formats, he deemphasizes decorative ornamentation.

Rasa creates her vases in untraditional shapes turning them into boxes and cylinders whose tops are manipulated and twisted into a variety of geometric forms. The surfaces of her works display highly decorative elements reminiscent of primitive drawings found in archeological sites and of old Lithuanian textile patterns. The lines are bold, based on ancient designs. The forms are fresh and contemporary.

Rasa's batik creations are determined both by the artist's original sketch and by inherent qualities of the material. Hot wax is brushed onto the canvas in areas chosen by the artist. The cooling wax creates patterns Similar to those found in the petrified wood providing the artist With surprises and new discoveries.

Rasa Saldaitis, Vase I, 1994, stoneware, 12" high