Romas Viesulas | Cycle R-30. Useless Things, 1979 | 6 lithographs, 68,5x46

Sign.: LR Romas Viesulas 79

Cycle of 6 works in total, 1979, lithographs, 68,5x46
The Oat Asked, ed. 10/25
Acqua Paola, ed. 7/25
Gigante, ed. 7/25
Island Omega, ed. 12/25
Nox, ed. 12/25
Taurina, ed. 7/25

Reproduced in book. Romas Viesulas (LDM, Vilnius, 2018) p. 208-2013
Version available at LNDM, VUB Graphic Cabinet, Beatričė Kleizaitė-Vasaris Art Gallery
Museum author. In Lithuania, works are owned by LNDM, NČDM, Tartle, VUB

In the spring semester of 1979, Viesulas spent his time in Rome. While working at the Roberto Bulla studio, he created an impressive new series titled “R-30. Useless Objects,” printed in an edition of 25 numbered copies. The “R-30” in the title represented thirty years of Viesulas’s creative work, and the theme of the series is explained on the title page as a tribute to everything worthless, forgotten, and lost. Viesulas marked this anniversary with a retrospective of his work at the American Academy Gallery in May. A significant highlight of the exhibition was the new series dedicated to his three children: Tauras, Vytas, and Austė. In these lithographs, Viesulas revisited the passage of time, choosing abstract images with meanings linked to Roman mythology and ancient Italian culture. One of the lithographs was dedicated to Nox, the Roman goddess of the night older than Cheops, whose children were Death and Sleep. The sharp violet background of this dynamic composition suggests not the calmness of night’s sleep, but rather the unsettling mystery of the unknown beyond. “Acqua Paola” commemorates one of Rome's oldest fountains, built on the remains of a Roman triumphal arch. The solemn verticality of the composition's elements seemingly connects the history of the past and the present.

Source: Book "Romas Viesulas" (LDM, Vilnius, 2018) p. 70-71