Kédainis, Juozas Justino

Born Dec. 18 (31), 1915, in the village of Karaliuniškis, in present-day Kupiškis Raion. Soviet sculptor. People’s Artist of the Lithuanian SSR (1965).

From 1933 to 1939, Kédainis studied under J. Mikènas and J. Zikaras at the Kaunas School of Art. From 1946 to 1951 he taught at the Institute of Applied and Decorative Art in Vilnius. In 1951, Kédainis became an instructor at the Art Institute of the Lithuanian SSR, which is also located in Vilnius.

Combining the romantic generalization of images and forms with soft picturesque modeling, Kédainis imparts a lyrical and intimate quality to his sculpture. His works include The Team-Leader(bronze, 1949, Art Museum of the Lithuanian SSR, Vilnius), The Kolkhoz Stableman (bronze, 1957, Kaunas Museum of Art; State Prize of the Lithuanian SSR, 1958), At the Seashore (plaster of paris, 1959, Neringa Cafe, Vilnius), Repose (cast iron, in a park in Druskininkai; plaster of paris, 1959), and the decorative stele Labor (granite, 1970, Kaunas).