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The art installation ‘The Globe’ by Ray Bartkus was presented at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on 10 December. The installation marks Lithuania’s non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council in 2014-2015.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius presented the work of art, saying that ‘The Globe’ by Bartkus revealed contrasts and the balance, which came into being thanks to their interaction. According to Linkevičius, this is an accurate allusion to Lithuania’s work in the UN Security Council. “The Security Council bears the main responsibility for ensuring peace and stability in the world. Despite different positions, the countries join their effort in order to ensure peaceful coexistence and look for the equilibrium point to build a consensus for peace.”

During the event, the UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson thanked Lithuania for its vigorous and principled activities in the UN Security Council and welcomed the opportunity to get acquainted with Lithuania’s contemporary art.

The event was attended by more than 150 UN diplomats and UN Secretariat staff members, artists from New York and representatives of the local Lithuanian community. The art installation ‘The Globe’ by Bartkus will be exhibited at the UN Headquarters until 28 December.

‘The Globe’ by Bartkus consists of 3 concentric spheres which are made of metal, wood and light; there is a peace dove in the centre. According to Bartkus, the work of art may embody many symbolic meanings, including that of the globe with accurately outlined continents against the oceans, a cage with the peace dove, serious problems facing the human race, and the beauty of life itself. ‘The Globe’, though, consists of seemingly paradoxical and incompatible separate elements, remains an integral whole, just like our world.

Ray Bartkus has resided in New York City since 1991. Social and political issues serve as central themes to which Bartkus returns to again and again in his work. He has displayed his work in exhibitions in the United States, Lithuania, Austria, Poland, Switzerland and other countries. His works of art  have been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in the United States, the National Gallery of Art in Lithuania, Morehead State University, Vilnius University, and many private art collectors.