Rimaldas Vikšraitis, Nude with Bicycle Wheels 1

Rimaldas Vikšraitis (born 1954)
Nude with bicycle wheels 1
1992, postcard, silver print, 38,5 × 29,2

Rimaldas Vikšraitis captures the poor life of the Lithuanian provinces in his works. The "Discovery of the Year" award at Europe's largest photography festival in Arles in 2009 encourages the Lithuanian photographer's work to move into already discovered artistic territories - in particular, François Rabelais' chronicles of bodily alchemy and customs.

Rimaldas Vikšraitis (b. 1954) is a Lithuanian photographer and one of the most prominent contemporary Lithuanian documentary photographers. Born in Marijampolė district, he graduated in photography from the Vilnius Technical University of Technology and has been photographing the everyday life of rural people since the 1970s. His work is characterised by a non-idealised, sometimes grotesque, but empathetic look at the social life of the Lithuanian countryside, capturing disappearing communities, human frailty and existential humour. Vikšraitis' work combines documentary, theatricality and social critique, and he has received international recognition with the 2009 "Discoverer" award at the Rencontres d'Arles European Photography Festival. His photographs are important for Lithuanian art, as they reveal a unique cross-section of social reality, expand the boundaries of documentary photography and give a voice to marginalised groups.