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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, New York


Awards

1964   Second Annual Chicago Arts Festival Invitational Exhibition, First Prize
1968   CAPS Grant (Creative Artists Public Service, NYS Council on the Arts)
1979   NEA Grant (National Endowment for the Arts)
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, (works on paper), New York
           Paula Cooper Gallery, (paintings), New York
1977   Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
1978   Galerie Darthea Speyer, Paris, France
           Kes Zapkus: Paintings 1968-1978, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
1979   Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
1981   Kes Zapkus: Drawing into Painting, Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
           John Weber Gallery, New York
1982   Kes Zapkus: Kes Zapkus: Notation/Progression, Hecksher Museum, Huntington, NY
           John Weber Gallery, New York
1984   Children of War John Weber Gallery, New York
1988   John Weber Gallery, New York
1988   Children of War, Museum of Art of Lithuania, exhibited in Vilnius, Klaipeda,
           and Kaunas, L.T.S.R. and 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 (paintings and drawings), Art Sites, Riverhead, NY
2008   Big Paintings 1975 – 2007, OK Harris Works of Art, New York
2011   Recent Paintings, OK Harris Works of Art, New York
2013   Recent Paintings, OK Harris Works of Art, New York
2014   Kestutis Zapkus: Painting Retrospective (1968-2014), The National Gallery of Art,
           Vilnius, Lithuania
2015   Inaugural Exhibit: Two Large Paintings, SLA307 Art Space, New York
           Kes Zapkus: Paintings and Drawings, William Holman Gallery, New York
2017   Kes Zapkus: Drawings and Works on Paper, 1957 - 2017, SLA307 Art Space, New York
2018   Kes Zapkus: New Paintings, Silas Von Morisse Gallery, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY
2023   Kestutis Zapkus: Paintings and Drawings, 2010 - 2022, Meno Parkas Galerija,
           Kaunas, Lithuania

 

Group Exhibitions

1958   Chicago and Vicinity, The Art Institute of Chicago / Hyde Park Art Center, Hyde Park, IL
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
           Invitational Exhibition, Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL
1968   Some Younger American Painters and Sculptors (touring exhibit),
           The Museum of Modem Art, New York
1969   Painting Annual, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
           Eight Painters, Wheaton College, Norton, MA
1970   Painting and Sculpture Today, The Indianapolis Museum of Art, IN
           Critics' Choice (touring exhibit), New York Council on the Arts
           Drawing Exhibition, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
1971   Three Paintings: Zapkus, Diao, Ruda, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
           Work on Paper, 31st Annual Exhibition of the Society of Contemporary Art,
           The Art Institute of Chicago
           Paula Cooper Gallery Exhibition, Windham College, Putney, VT
           Art for Your Collection, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
           Specially Selected Works, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
1972   New York '72, Paula Cooper Gallery Exhibition, Greenwich Public Library, Greenwich, CT
           New American Abstract Painting, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
           New American Abstract Painting, Madison Art Center, Madison, WI
           Gallerie Simone Stern, New Orleans, LA
1973   Inaugural Group Exhibition: New Space - Wooster Street, 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, IL
           Options 73/30: Recent Works of Art, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
           Art for Your Collection, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
1974   Spring Group Exhibition, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
           Painting and Sculpture Today, 1974, Contemporary Art Center of The Indianapolis
           Museum of Art and The Contemporary Arts Center and Taft Museum, Cincinnati, OH
           Fall Group Exhibition, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
           Vera List Selects, Greenwich Library, Greenwich, CT
           Drawings and Other Work, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
1975   Painting Endures, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
           Spring Group Show, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
           Drawings, Dootson-Calderhead Gallery, Seattle, WA
           Drawings, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
           A Change of View, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT
           Recent Work, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
1976   Group Show, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
           Approaching Painting: Part Three, Hallwalls, Buffalo, NY
           Group Show, Paula Cooper Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
           Fortieth Annual Exhibition, Butler Art Institute, Youngstown, OH
           Perspective '76, Freedman Art Gallery, Albright College, Reading, PA
1977   Drawings of the 70's, The Art Institute of Chicago
           Critics' Choice, Lowe Art Gallery, Syracuse University, NY
           and Munson Williams Proctor Institute, Utica, NY
           Contemporary Collection, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT
           Drawings and Prints - New York, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
           Art for Your Collection, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
1978   Project Rebuild, Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York
           Group Show, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
1979   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, MO
           American Drawings in Black and White; 1970-1980, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
1981   Drawings, (Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts Benefit),
           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, Parsons 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, PA
           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, NJ
           Art as Social Conscience, Bard College, Annandale-on Hudson, NY
           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 Wifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba
           Law and Order, Leo Castelli Gallery, John Weber Gallery, Barbara Gladstone Gallery,
           New York
1987   Group Exhibition, Exhibition Palace, Vilnius, Lithuania
           Group Exhibition, Cooper Union School of Art, New York
1988   Sightings: Drawings with Color, (touring exhibit) Instituto de Estudios Norteamericanos,
           Barcelona, Spain, Casa Revilla, Valladolid, Spain, Museo Barjola, Gijon, Spain, and
           the Calouste Gulbekian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal
1989   Sightings: Drawings with Color, Pratt Manhattan Gallery, and Schafler Gallery,
           Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
           Belief in Paint, Usdan Gallery, Bennington College, Bennington, VT
1990   The Grid: Organization and Idea, Ben Shahn Galleries, William Paterson College,
           Wayne, NJ
1991   Drawings: Artists of the John Weber Gallery, Arco 91, Madrid, Spain
           Art on Paper, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC
           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
           Bryan Montgomery Collection, London, England, Museum of Fine Arts,
           Budapest, Hungary
           Bryan Montgomery Collection, London, England, Gallery of Art, Novosibirsk, Russia
           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, NY
           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, (site-specific, large scale, bamboo sculpture), Greenport, NY
1999   The Faculty Show 1999 Staller Center, SUNY at Stony Brook, NY
2000   25th Anniversary Exhibition, Andre Zarre Gallery, New York
2001   Structures (touring exhibit), The Workspace, New York, Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA
           and Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
           The Faculty Show 2001, Staller Center, SUNY at Stony Brook, NY
           Difficult Subjects, Art Sites, Greenport, NY
2006   Group Show, OK Harris Works of Art, New York
2008   American Abstract Artists, The Painting Center, New York
           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 Ogbo and
           Deutscher Künstlerbund, Berlin, Germany
2013   39 Great Jones, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Switzerland
2014   Sensory Impact, American Abstract Artists, Morgan Stanley International, Purchase, NY
2015   Winter Drawing Show, William Holman Gallery, New York
           Benefit for SLA Artspace, SLA307, New York
2016   The Onward of Art, American Abstract Artists 80th Anniversary,
           1285 Avenue of the Americas Art Gallery, New York
           Matter and Conjecture: Kes Zapkus, Stefan Gritsch, Art 3, Brooklyn, NY
           Impossible Blossom: Paintings from the New School Art Collection, Kellen Gallery,
           Parsons School of Design, The New School, New York
2017   From Realism to the Object: Lithuanian World Art in the Collection of the Lithuanian
           Expatriate Art Foundation
, Vytautas Kasiulis Art Museum, Vilnius, Lithuania
           Lithuanian Art: Thinking Through Landscape, The National Museum of China, Beijing
2019   Contemporary Lithuanian Artists, Espace Commines, Paris, France
2022   Parallel Time (Paralelinis laikas), Vytautas Kasiulis Art Museum, Vilnius, Lithuania

 

 

Teaching positions held at:

University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Fine Arts
The Vilnius Academy of Art
The Cooper Union School of Art
Parsons School of Design
Princeton University
State University of New York at Stony Brook


© 2023 Kes Zapkus