Rimaldas Vikšraitis is best known for his artistic documentary photographs of rural life in his native Lithuania. In them, the habitual use of alcohol and the prevalent grime and poverty in the villages is depicted humorously, albeit with darker undertones. Through the social backdrop of his intriguing and wonderfully surreal images, Vikšraitis narrates the decline of local farms and traditional village life since the fall of the Soviet Union. His unflinching gaze embraces voyeurism, nakedness and drunken abandonment, and employs masks, saws, kitchenware, bicycles and animals in chronicling a world where people have nothing except their bodies, with no hope of improvement.
Rimaldas Vikšraitis (Lithuanian, b. 1954) lives and works in Lithuania. Vikšraitis graduated from the Vilnius Technical School No. 47 with a specialization in photography. For ten years, he worked as a studio photographer in Šakiai. Since 1985 Vikšraitis has been a member of the Lithuanian Photographers Association, honorary member from 2011. In 1997, the International Federation of Art Photography (FIAP) designated him a Photoartist (AFIAP). Since 1983, he has organized over fifty personal exhibitions in Lithuania and abroad. Vikšraitis has received fifteen international awards. In 2006, he was awarded a prize from the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture. He presented his work at the world-renowned photography festival Rencontres d'Arles, France in 2009 where he won the Discovery Award (nominated by Martin Parr). In 2010, he was awarded Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts and the 40th anniversary gold medal from the Lithuanian Photographers Association. Vikšraitis’ photographs are preserved in prestigious museums and private collections worldwide.
Gallery Hours: Wed-Sat, 12-5 PM