PHOTOGRAPHY USURPED EXHIBITION SPACES OF KAUNAS 0
In brief: At the beginning of autumn the ninth photography festival Kaunas Photo livened up the pulse of Kaunas cultural life. Exhibitions of the festival spread in various exposition halls of Kaunas like a virus, starting with M. Žilinskas Art Gallery with the main exhibition “About Photography”, Kaunas Photography Gallery with the series of interior photographs of power plants of Luca Zanier, winner of Kaunas Kaunas Photo Star portfolio competition of 2011, and ending with the dimmed first floor of Kaunas State Drama Theatre with the exhibition of Irena Giedraitienė “Sports Festival of Nations in Moscow” or Historical President’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania, where the photography cycle of the American Jonas Kulikauskas of Lithuanian origin “Camp Rambynas” is showcased.
More than a dozen solo exhibitions of Lithuanian and foreign artists are presented in separate spaces, and about fifty authors introduce their ideas in the joint exhibition at M. Žilinskas Art Gallery. It seems that other kinds of visual art have to pay respect to photography and take a rest meanwhile. Only several modest attempts not to surrender may be noticed in Kaunas: the exhibition “Young Kaunas Painting 2012” organised at Kaunas Picture Gallery, which presents works of painting graduates of Vilnius Academy of Arts, Kaunas Arts Faculty, and the joint exhibition of three painting plein-airs (“Birštonas 2012”, “Dubysa 2012”, “Nemajūnai 2012: Along the Path of Lithuanian Painter Nikodemas Silvanavičius”) open at Aukso Pjūvis gallery.
Photography Speaking About Itself
The biggest exhibition of Kaunas Photo Festival “About Photography” tries to disclose what changes may be traced in art photography during the latter decade. Seven thematic directions should help the viewer find his way in the abundance of authors and variety of ideas: “Love at First Shot”, “Dream Work”, “Crowd Gesture”, “Screen of Inspirations”, “Aesthetics of Reject”, “4 D Seeing” and “Power of Heritage”.
The title of the exhibition indicates that the self-reflection of photography is unavoidable. Therefore, authors of the exhibition speak about photography by views in various methods.
To Dream of Lithuania
It is a pity that not all exhibitions of the festival found suitable halls. “Sports Festival of Nations in Moscow” of Irena Giedraitienė drowns in the dim light of the Drama Theatre, and the modest exhibition of Romualdas Kęstutis Augūnas “I Dream of Lithuania” disappears in the hall of the Business Leaders’ Centre. His photographs focus on the man – dancing, rejoicing, working, mourning.
Vytautas Magnus University gallery 101 sheltered four exhibitions. Lithuania was important for the photographer Ieva Baltaduonytė.who presented portraits of Lithuanians who emigrated to Ireland in her cycle “Migrations”. The theme of migration is also touched by Mindaugas Kavaliauskas, who captures views of an airport, fellow-travellers, people going home. The rest two photography series speak about sights of Christianity in common people’s homes and abroad, in St. Kasimir Parish in Los Angeles.
Young Painting
Kaunas Picture Gallery with its exhibition “Young Kaunas Painting 2012” may be called an island of painting floating in the sea of photography at the moment.
The participants of this exhibition are young artists who graduated from studies recently or who are still studying. However, the showcased works create a déjà vu impression: everything seems to be seen somewhere before. Painters are young but no youthful energy and sally may be felt.
The author points out to only several works which stood out from the exhibition. For instance, canvases painted by Lukas Kolmogorcevas according to the film “Memory of the Camps” show the belief that the content of the works is important not only to the creator but to the viewer too. The canvas “Emptiness” of Milda Gailiūtė was already noticed and evaluated in the competition Young Painter’s Prize of 2011.
Two more works that locked attention are the object-installation of Laurynas Leonaitis “Air Balloon” and the video film of Vaida Tamošiūnaitė “Armour”. L.Leonaitis shows how the realisation of an object changes after moving it to another context; meanwhile, the film of V. Tamošiūnaitė cut by Daina Pupkevičiūtė is like a meditation and deep thinking.
Reflections of Painting Plein-Airs
Three exhibitions are open at Aukso Pjūvis gallery at the moment: the exhibition of the young ceramicist Valdas Pukevičius “PLOK`12”, one of Kaunas Photo Festival exhibitions “Dreaming of Lithuania” is open in the hall of the first floor, and the biggest area of the gallery is occupied by the joint exhibition of three summer painting plein-airs “Birštonas 2012”, “Dubysa 2012”, “Nemajūnai 2012: Along the Path of Lithuanian Painter Nikodemas Silvanavičius”.
The plein-airs of Birštonas and Dubysa are traditional. Meanwhile, the plein-air of Nemajūnai was dedicated to the painter of the 19th century Nikodemas Silvanavičius and continued the ideas born in Birštonas.
Colourful works of Feliksas Jackevičius, Valentinas Varnas, Marius Mindaugas Danys, Edita Mališkienė, Lilija Puipienė, Aistė Gabrielė Černiūtė, Arvydas Kašauskas, Justina Puidokaitė, Rūta Eidukaitytė, Jurga Braziūnienė, Mikko Waltari (Finland), Juozas Pranckevičius, Rita Speičienė, Bronius Uogintas, Dina Bugdinas (USA), Ilona Žvinakienė, Viltė Žvinakytė, Liucija Berežanskytė, Jonas Čepas, Ausma Bankauskaitė, Vilma Skibiniauskaitė, Jūratė Mitalienė, Gražina Vitartaitė, Artūras Slapšys and Rokas Beržiūnas reached Kaunas Aukso Pjūvis gallery. The works reveal the variety of painting manner and diversity in quality.