November

In brief: The search of meaning in the solo exhibition ‘Free Play of Space’ by Židrija Janušaitė, held at Kaunas Vytautas Magnus University Gallery 101, is not necessary. Experiencing the state that she chose for the title of the exhibition is more important.

The space and its elements truly ‘play’ – the gallery looks like divided into two contrasting pieces – one of them is illuminated and sterile, another one is dimmed and intimate and the only source of lighting is the light of projectors focused on the pictures.

The display consists of eight canvases; three of them are interactive – painting is supplemented with visual installations, projected at the pictures. The abstract painting, characteristic of reserved colours and melted shapes, creates the impression of a chamber space, radiating some certain metaphysics. Non-colour projections even highlight it by resembling of lambent, slightly changing and fading X-ray pictures.

Ž. Janušaitė starts her annotation with such words: ‘99% of an atom is an empty space’ and goes on with further statistics of the objective world by stressing the instability and temporality of all the subatomic particles that compose the entire world around us.  

The idea of change and mobility is important to Ž. Janušaitė not only in the level of the tiniest particles but also in the environment. During the opening of the exhibition the movement and shrinking of paint on canvas were discussed. This process is not so easily noticeable visually but the dimension of space and time is raised because the space of picture changes in time.

The author includes her silent pieces that reflect an intense movement of atoms into the colourful and hectic world. The abstractions create the impression of storm but this movement is rather inner than external, shaped by temperate tints and brushstrokes.

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.