Calligrapher Lidija Kuklienė presented her painting exhibition “Growing” in Kaunas, Aukso Pjūvis Gallery, on the 4th of November. The show was inspired by autumn landscapes.
I exhibited my cycle “The Lee” that was my protest against myself – the staging, the editing myself. The people seen in “The Lee” did not know they were being photographed. Such way of making photographs was the greatest happiness for me. Staging is a dull thing, you want more real experiences all the time“, - R. Rakauskas stated.
Illustrated stories by artist Kęstutis Kasparavičius were presented in Kaunas, Eglės Gallery, till the 6th of November. The exhibition drew into the world of illusions and fairy-tales and reminded of the past when we were like those tales’ characters, jumping over pools.
The death of photography, its decline and extinction were discussed many times but all those talks were empty. Photography participates in public and personal life so actively as never before. It documents the face of society and also creates its identity. What is contemporary photography and how could we find art in it?
The bouquet of fancy experiments and individual improvisations were offered by Kaunas Biennial Textile’11 and especially the exhibition ‘Rewind Personal Story‘, displayed at M. Žilinskas Art Gallery in Kaunas. One of the most interesting textile works in the exhibition is the piece ‘09/03/1981’ by Lithuanian artist Rūta Naujalytė. An extraordinary technique, peculiar colours and a conceptual idea drew the attention of many visitors.
The author refuses to depict the material world. She prefers to accentuate the space surrounding the human being and the shoddiness of matter by leading the viewer towards metaphysical contemplation. Her painting reminds a bit the colour field painting of Mark Rothko – the brushstrokes and play of undertints create the impression of depth and specific mood, affect the viewer emotionally.
‘The sacred art goes underground gradually, by yielding ground to the postmodern art. Sacred art delimits significant things from the accessible, elementary ones that fit into the concept of profanity’, - artist V. Kašinskas says.
Using similar components, P. Gilytė creates the most individual object – her personal city. The city as she knew it in the past and as she knows it now. With the help of inner images as a highly personal and authentic object of creating art, P. Gilytė examines the relativity of time in terms of every individual and their experience.
It would be hard to say flatly, how much the Far East philosophy and the Western culture affected the Fluxus movement. Concrete facts prove such links but it is especially confirmed by the possibilities of real experiences, scenarios of happenings and creative experiments. The project organized by Kaunas Biennial showed that Fluxus can change not only the way of presenting art exhibitions but also the experiences of the everyday.
Inspired by the famous Paris show, the exhibition ‘Autumn Salon 2011’ was opened in Kaunas, the Meno Parkas Gallery, on the 23rd of November. One of the most important aims was to spread new approaches to art, to introduce the audience to various tendencies and perceptions of art. However, the show does not attempt to represent ‘absolute’ novelties or to evoke a revolution in the field of contemporary art.
Only time will prove the popularity of G. Verdi's 'Attila'. The composer once said: ‘I write music to people, not critics’. So let this opera be evaluated not only by critics but also viewers.
The work ‘She Likes Tomatoes’ distinguishes among other textile works in the exhibition by its playful and rather light topic. Other participants of the biennial examine global problems of the old and the contemporary world, existential experiences, childhood memories. In the meantime, the work of L. Jonikė invokes an elevated mood and makes forget about all troubles.