“Near the Main Line”: Agnė Kulbytė Interviews Painter Henrikas Čerapas

Abstract

Recent discoveries in Henrikas Čerapas's (b. 1952) painting method have prompted an exploration of the specific philosophical and art historical approaches that enable to understand his work. Čerapas's painting methodology was examined during the artist's exhibition, Papilės kooperatyvo sandėlio Memorialas (Memorial of the Papilė Co-op Warehouse), held at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania in March 2024 and during the academic symposium that accompanied the exhibition, Monadological Landscapes: Reflections of Leibniz's Theory in Philosophy and Painting, organized by the Vilnius University Faculty of Philosophy. These events inspired yet another study—an interview with the artist. The aim of the interview was to learn more about the direction of Čerapas's latest artistic explorations and to summarize the thoughts expressed in recent interviews with the painter, as well as his own reflections recorded in his notes. The leitmotif of the interview, chosen from the title of Čerapas's painting “Šalia pagrindinės linijos” (2022; Near the Main Line), provoked the painter to talk about his creative ambitions and allowed to grasp his abyssal intellectual potential and follow his autobiographical expression, filled with spiritual resignation. The interview took place in August 2025.