KES ZAPKUS
Biography
1938 Born, Lithuania (as an American citizen)
1960 BFA, The School of The Art Institute of Chicago
Ryerson Foreign Travel Fellowship
1963 MFA, Syracuse University
Awards
1964 Second Annual Chicago Arts Festival Invitational Exhibition, First Prize
1968 CAPS
1979 NEA
1996 The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Grant
Solo Exhibitions
1962 Gres Gallery, Chicago
Ciurlionis Gallery, Chicago
1965 Kazimir Gallery, Chicago
1966 Kazimir Gallery, Chicago
1968 Stable Gallery, New York
1971 Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
1973 Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
1975 Paula Cooper Gallery, New York, works on paper
Paula Cooper Gallery, New York, paintings
1977 Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
1978 Galerie Darthea Speyer, Paris
Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, retrospective
1979 Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
1981 Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, retrospective
John Weber Gallery, New York
1982 Kes Zapkus: Notation/Progression, Hecksher Museum, Huntington, New York
John Weber Gallery, New York
1984 Children of War, John Weber Gallery, New York
1988 John Weber Gallery, New York
1989 Children of War, Museum of Art of Lithuania, exhibited in Vilnius, Klaipeda and Kaunas, L.T.S.R.
Gallery of the L.T.S.R. Mission, Moscow, U.S.S.R
John Weber Gallery, New York
1995 Andre Zarre Gallery, New York
2001 Paintings & Drawings 1998-2000, Art Sites, Greenport, NY
2005 Selected Paintings 1993–2005, Icehouse Gallery, Greenport, NY
2007 Mindset-Timeset Variations, Art Sites, Riverhead, NY, paintings and drawings
2008 Big Paintings 1975–2007, OK Harris Works of Art, New York
2011 Recent Paintings, OK Harris Works of Art, New York
2013-14 Recent Paintings, OK Harris Works of Art, New York
2014 Kestutis Zapkus: Painting Retrospective (1968-2014), The National Gallery of Art, Vilnius, Lithuania
2015 Kes Zapkus: Paintings and Drawings, William Holman Gallery, New York
Group Exhibitions
1958 Chicago and Vicinity, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Hyde Park Art Center, Hyde Park, Illinois
1964 Signal: Six Artistes Americains de Paris et d'Amsterdam, Centre Culturel Americain, Paris
1965 Invitational Exhibition, Society of Contemporary Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Invitational Exhibition, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb
1968 Some Younger American Painters and Sculptors, The Museum of Modem Art, New York (touring exhibition)
1969 Painting Annual, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Eight Painters, Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts
1970 Painting and Sculpture Today, The Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis
Critics' Choice, New York Council on the Arts, touring exhibition
Drawing Exhibition, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
1971 Three-man show, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York, (with Ruda and Diao)
Work on Paper, 31st Annual Exhibition of the Society of Contemporary Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Paula Cooper Gallery Exhibition, Windham College, Putney, Vermont
Art for Your Collection, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence
1972 New York '72, Paula Cooper Gallery Exhibition, Greenwich, Connecticut
New York Painting, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
New York Abstract Painting, Madison Art Center, Madison, Wisconsin
Gallerie Simone Stern, New Orleans
1973 Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
33rd Biennial Exhibition, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
New American Abstract Painting, Northern Illinois University Art Gallery, DeKalb
Options 73/30: Recent Works of Art, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati
Art for Your Collection, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence
1974 Spring Group Exhibition, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Painting and Sculpture Today, 1974, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis
Painting and Sculpture Today, 1974, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati
Fall Group Exhibition, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Vera List Selects, Greenwich Library, Greenwich, Connecticut
Drawings and Other Work, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
1975 Painting Endures, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
Spring Group Show, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Drawings, Dootson-Calderhead Gallery, Seattle
Drawings, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia
A Change of View, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut
Recent Work, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont
1976 Group Show, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Approaching Painting: Part Three, Hallswalls, Buffalo, New York
Group Show, Paula Cooper Gallery, Los Angeles
Fortieth Annual Exhibition, Butler Art Institute, Youngstown, Ohio
Perspective '76, Freedman Art Gallery, Albright College, Reading, Pennsylvania
1977 Paintings, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Drawings of the 70's, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Critics' Choice, Lowe Art Gallery, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York,
and Munson Williams Proctor Institute, Utica, New York
Contemporary Collection, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut
Drawings and Prints‑‑New York, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
Art for Your Collection, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence
1978 Project Rebuild, Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York
Group Show, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
1979 Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Art on Paper 1979, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina, Greensboro
1980 Color in Colorado, Aspen Center for the Visual Arts, Aspen
Group Show, Okun‑Thomas Gallery, St. Louis
American Drawings in Black and White; 1970‑1980, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn
1981 Drawings, (benefit - Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts), Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
Group Show, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Peter Stuyvesant Collection, The Provencial Beijnhof, Hasselt, Belgian Limburg
1982 Ten Artists from New York, Sunny Savage Gallery, Boston
Drawing - New Directions, Summit Art Center, Summit, New Jersey
Zero Nuclear, Parson School of Design, New York
1983 Terminal New York, Brooklyn Army Terminal, Brooklyn
Recent Acquisitions in Contemporary Art, Part One, The Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh
Christmas Invitational, AIR Gallery, New York
1984 Artists Call Against Intervention in Central America, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
Gallery Group, John Weber Gallery, New York
Maximalism, Tweed Gallery, Plainfield, New Jersey
Art as Social Conscience, Bard College, New York
Labor Intensive Abstractions, organized by P. S. 1 at The Clocktower, New York
1985 Gallery Group, John Weber Gallery, New York
1986 Comino a Cuba, Museo Universitario del Chopo, Mexico City, Mexico
Gallery Group, John Weber Gallery, New York
2nd Biennal de la Havana, Centro Vifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba
Law and Order, Leo Castelli Gallery, John Weber Gallery, and Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York
1987 Group Exhibition, Exhibition Palace, Vilnius, Lithuania
Group Exhibition, Cooper Union School of Art, New York
1989 Sightings, Pratt Manhattan Gallery, New York & Rubelle and Norman Schafler Gallery, Brooklyn; 1988‑1989 toured in Spain and Portugal under the auspices of the Instituto de Estudios Norteamericanos
Belief in Paint, Usdan Gallery, Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont
1990 The Grid: Organization and Idea, Ben Shahn Galleries, The William Paterson College of New Jersey, Wayne, N.J .
1991 Arco, Madrid
Art on Paper, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Pictures for an Exhibition, The Richard Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
The Bryan Montgomery Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary
1992 Stuyvesant Foundation Collection, Sevilla, Spain
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary (Bryan Montgomery Collection, London, England:
Zapkus paintings)
Gallery of Art, Novosibirsk, Russia (Bryan Montgomery Collection, London, England: Zapkus drawings and prints)
The Open Work, John Good Gallery, New York
The Exuberant '80's, Andre Zarre Gallery, New York
1994 Civic Virtues, National Bank Plaza, Charlotte, NC
The Faculty Show 1994, Staller Center, SUNY at Stony Brook
One Hundred Hearts, 45 Greene Street, New York
1995 20th Anniversary Exhibition 1974‑1994, Andre Zarre Gallery, New York
In Small Dimensions, Andre Zarre Gallery, New York
1997 Abstraction Index, Condesco/Lawler Gallery, New York
The Faculty Show 1997, Staller Center, SUNY at Stony Brook
1998 Footfalls, Greenport, NY (site-specific, large scale, bamboo sculpture)
1999 The Faculty Show 1999, Staller Center, SUNY at Stony Brook
2000 25th Anniversary Exhibition, Andre Zarre Gallery, New York
2001 Structures, The Workspace, New York
The Faculty Show 2001, Staller Center, SUNY at Stony Brook
Structures, Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pa
Difficult Subjects, Art Sites, Greenport, NY
Structures, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
2006 Group Show, O.K. Harris Works of Art, New York, N.Y.
2008 American Abstract Artists, The Painting Center, NY
40th Anniversary, Galerie Darthea Speyer, Paris
2010 American Abstract Artists International, L’astrazione vista da un cosmopolita, Otrano, Italy
2011 Abstraction (Abstraction to the Power of Infinity), Crane Arts, Philadelphia, Pa.
American Abstract Artists 75th Anniversary, OK Harris Works of Art, New York
American Abstract Artists International/75th Anniversary, Galerie oqbo and Deutscher Künstlerbund, Berlin, Germany
2013 39 Great Jones, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Switzerland
2014-15 Sensory Impact, American Abstract Artists, Morgan Stanley International, Purchase, NY
Selected Bibliography
Kestutis Zapkus, Painting and Drawing, (monograph, in English and Lithuanian), Laima Kreivyte, editor, Lewben Art Foundation, Vilnius, Lithuania, 2014, pp. 1- 231, ill. (includes essays by Lucy R. Lippard, Marjorie Welish, Sandra Skurvida)
Schulze, Franz. Chicago Daily News, June 30, 1962
Schulze, Franz. Lituanus, No.4, 1962, pp. 123-127
Kurauskas, Algirdas. Kestutis Zapkus, (exhibition catalogue), Ciurlionis Gallery, Chicago, 1962
Mackus, Algimantas. Metmenys, 1962, p. 7
Ragon, Michel. Les Arts, Paris, France, 1964
Ashberry, John. Herald Tribune International, Paris, May, 1964
Schulze, Franz. ARTnews, Jan. 1964
Prapuolenis, B. Draugas, 1964
Karpuszko, K. Kestutis Zapkus, (catalogue), Kazimir Gallery, Chicago, 1965
Ratcliff, Carter. review, ARTnews, Nov. 1971, p. 84
New American Abstract Painting, (catalogue),), Madison Art Center, Madison, Wisconsin, 1972
New American Abstract Painting, (catalogue), Northern Illinois University Art Gallery, DeKalb, 1973
Options, 73/30, (catalogue), Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, 1973
Baro, Gene. Way of Color, 33rd Biennial Exhibition, (catalogue), Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1973, pp. 28-29
Gilbert‑Rolf, Jeremy. review, Artforum, 1974, p. 69
The Stedeliik Museum Collection, 1963‑1973, (catalogue), January 1974
Painting and Sculpture Today, 1974, (catalogue), Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1974, p. 96, ill
Lubell, Ellen. review, Arts Magazine, March 1975, p. 14
Frank, Peter. review, Soho Weekly News, Dec. 6, 1975, p. 10
A Change of View, (catalogue), The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut, 1975,
Ashton, Dore. Painting Endures, (catalogue), Institute of Contemporary Arts, Boston, 1975, ill
Kaplan, Patricia. review, Art in America, Sept. 1975, pp. 93‑94
Larson, Philip. ‘’Kes Zapkus’’, Arts Magazine, June 1976, p. 13
Perspective ’76, (catalogue), Freedman Art Gallery, Albright College, Reading, Pennsylvania, 1976
Critics' Choice, (catalogue), Lowe Art Gallery, Syracuse, and Munson- Williams Proctor Institute, Utica, New York, 1977
Fall 1977: Contemporary Collection, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut, 1977,
Lubell, Ellen. review, Arts Magazine, 1977, pp. 35‑36
Russell, John. review, The New York Times, May 13, 1977, p. C22
Gleiny, Christine. Galerie a Jardin Des Arts, No.180, Paris, 1978
Brown, Ellen. “Zapkus’ Geometric Paintings – lush, sensuous – create mood”, Cincinnati Post,
Saturday, July 1, 1978
Findsen, Owen. "Zapkus Paints Symphonies on Canvas", Cincinnati Enquirer, July 2, 1978
Stearns, Robert. Kes Zapkus, Paintings 1968‑78, (catalogue), The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, 1978
Sawin, Martica. "Kes Zapkus", Arts Magazine, June 1979, p. 3
Frank, Peter. review, The Village Voice, June 4, 1979, p. 83
Russell, John. review, The New York Times, May 25, 1979, p. C23
Castle, Ted. "Kes Zapkus' Modern Warfare”, Artforum, March 1981, pp. 74‑76, (ill)
Lippard, Lucy R. "Notes on 'With Paint on Canvas'", Anthology Film Archives / Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1981
“Kestutis Zapkus”, Ateitis, No.3, Chicago, 1981, pp. 79 - 85
Baro, Gene. Kes Zapkus: Drawing into Painting, (catalogue), Carnegie Institute, 1981
Glueck, Grace. review, The New York Times, Friday, Nov. 27, 1981
Lochridge, Katherine. Kes Zapkus: Notation/Progression, (catalogue), Hecksher Museum, 1982
Castle, Ted. "Art Norms in 1982", Journal, Summer 1982
Lippard, Lucy R. "Art Tranquil, Art Defiant: Kes Zapkus", Art in America, Summer 1982, pp. 132-138
Freidman, Kenneth, and Peter Frank. "Building a Contemporary Collection", Diversion, May 1982
Glueck, Grace. review, The New York Times, Sept. 30, 1983
Raynor, Vivien. review, The New York Times, Sunday, Nov. 18, 1984
Larson, Kay. review, New York Magazine, Nov. 26, 1984, p. 118
Lippard, Lucy R. "Battle Cries", The Village Voice, Dec. 4, 1984, p. 105
Warren, Ron. "Kes Zapkus at John Weber” Arts, Jan. 1985
Baker, Kenneth. "Kes Zapkus at John Weber", Art in America, March 1985
Welish, Marjorie. "Kes Zapkus at John Weber", ARTnews, April 1988, p. 146
Lietuvos TSR dailės muziejus. Kęstutis Zapkus, (exhibition catalogue), 1989
Kostkeviciute, I. Kęstučio Zapkaus plastinės vizijos, Kultūros Barai, 1989 nr. 7, p. 12-16
Cyphers, Peggy. Kes Zapkus at John Weber, Arts Magazine, Dec. 1989, pp. 95‑96
The Grid: Organization and Idea, (exhibition brochure), Ben Shahn Galleries, The William Paterson College of New Jersey, Wayne, NJ, essays by Karl Lunde and David Raymond, 1990
Art on Paper, (catalogue), The Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1991
Welish, Marjorie. “The Open Work", Essay published by John Good Gallery, 1992
Liutkus, Viktoras. Literatura ir Menas, No. 6, 1992, pp. 4-10
Wei, Lily. Kes Zapkus at Andre Zarre, Art in America, Sept. 1995, p.111
Naujokaitis, Audrius. Kulturos Barai, No. 10, 1995
Welish Marjorie. Signifying Art: Essays on Art After 1960, Cambridge University Press, 1999, pp. 183-200
Toth, Ferenc. The Bryan Montgomery Collection, (catalogue), Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary, 1999, pp. 166-169
Wood Liz. Riffs in Paint, The Suffolk Times, Mattituck, NY, July 5, 2001, pp.1a & 6a
Dodge, Norton T. and Alla Rosenfeld. Art of the Baltics, Rutgers University Press, N.J., 2001, pp. 355, 359, 426, and 441.
Harrison, Helen. review, The New York Times, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2005
K. Zapkus. Aspects of Content and Context, Lituanus, No.53: 2, Summer 2007, pp. 41-55
Wood, Liz. Floor Plan for Art, The Suffolk Times, Mattituck, NY, Aug. 16, 2007, pp. 1a & 7a
Berlind, Robert. Kes Zapkus, OK Harris, review, Art In America, March 2009, pp.144
Frank, Peter. Kes Zapkus and Tino Zago, Huffington Post, Haiku Review, Dec. 16, 2011
FILM
Gambone, Jerry, With Paint on Canvas: Kes Zapkus, 16mm documentary film, 42 minutes, color, released 1980, distributed by The American Federation of Arts Film Program at The Museum of Modern Art, New York