Jūratė Petruškevičienė is a well-known contemporary textile artist in the art world. The artist admires folk art, especially folk fabrics and embroidery. They are the artist’s inspiration. This exhibition is dedicated to the modern revival of Lithuanian folk heritage. This personal exhibition includes works from two of her latest cycles, “From the Past” and “Handicraft Therapy”.
Jūratė Petruškevičienė studied textiles at the Vilnius Academy of Arts Kaunas faculty (graduated in 1973). There she met her great teachers – set designer Liudas Truikys and textile artist Zenonas Varnauskas. She learned the secrets of composition and textile art from them. Apparently, she also learned more important things – humanistic attitudes and ethics. These things determine what the artist chooses to talk about, what thoughts she radiates in her work.
Jūratė Petruškevičienė’s work is intended to reflect on the history of the region, traditions and generational ties. She explores the topic of the relationship between the present and the past. The deep meaning of Jūratė Petruškevičienė’s works seeks reflections on the identity of the nation, the roots of the nation and its perspectives. She is characterized by a contemplative, thoughtful perception of the world. What seems worthless, consumed, and dead to the modern practical person, in the hands of Jūratė Petruškevičienė rises to a new, non-domestic life and inspires the reflections of the modern person about the meaning of existence. After all, folk textiles were composed and woven with the hopes, desires, and pains of previous generations. All this should not decay and disappear, but it does. Bedspreads, the basis of these works, were no longer needed by anyone. The artist collected or bought them in Lithuanian villages, mostly in Dzūkija. She saw the beauty of fabrics, became interested in the life stories of weavers. The artist’s thought and craftsmanship resurrected, revived, aestheticized, and connected old fabrics with the present. They became conceptual works of contemporary art. In a technological sense, they are so very modern. The artist uses photography, printing, and various textile techniques. Most importantly, these works push us to reflect on the past and the connection with our ancestors.
Jūratė Petruškevičienė is a member of the Lithuanian Artists’ Union, an associate professor at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Her artistic textiles are constantly touring exhibitions in Lithuania and abroad. In the period 1983–2026, the artist has held over thirty personal exhibitions, and her participation in group exhibitions of contemporary textiles is simply impossible to count. The most recent exhibition of her work (April-May 2026) was held at the Beatričė Kleizaitė-Vasaris Art Gallery in Marijampolė.
The exhibition is on display on the second floor of the rectory barn in museum’s town from 2026 June 10 to September 15.