Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art

For the 3rd time Łaźnia, Centre for Contemporary Art, presents works of artists from Lithuania. This year we decided to leave our current formula – music, photography and widen the spectrum of our interests. There will be shown the works of Irma Stanaitytė, Ugnius Gelgude, Arturas Bumšteinas, Saulius Leonavičius, CORO Collective (Egle Budvytyte, Goda Budvytyte, Ieva Miseviciute) and Jonas Mekas’ videos.

Irma Stanaityte

What connects the three artists taken part in the exhibition? Their approach to well-known aesthetics. Artists presented during the exhibition take over well-known images and convert them creating a new meanings.

“Two” by Irma Stanaitytė raises a question what one’s likes – a question about acceptable forms of aesthetics. Her installation juxtapose photos of compositions made by her father at home with light-boxes, held in frugal, modernistic form of picturing in the name of “less is more”. Images, though they seem to be far away from each other, raise similar question of the sense of creation, nature of `being an artist`. Irma’s project is a multithreaded narration questioning on the one hand the purpose of art, artistic stand, receivers and on the other it’s simply a story about her father’s passion for collecting.

Arturas Bumšteinas in his video-performances reinterprets classical works of avant-garde. In “Sentences on Conceptual Art (Instrumental Version)" this artist recreates music of John Baldessari singing the conceptual art manifesto “Sentences on Conceptual Art” by Sol LeWitt. In “Stockhausen's Cocktail Bar” he uses „Studie II” (Karlheinz Stockhausen, 1954 ) as a recipe to make drinks. Bumšteinas in his art refers to the canon of neo-avantgarde, he has re-created works of Baldessari, Sol LeWitt, Joseph Beuys, Stockhausen, Robert Smithson. Stockhausen’s “Studie II” is a first score of electronic music piece. Bumšteinas’ works enter us into a world of post-conceptual art, existing not only as a function of senses but also in an intellect.

Ugnius Gelguda in his art continues investigations of avant-garde, explores the nature of the used medium. This artist paraphrases the classics – video “Žalgiris/Grunwald” recreates a scheme characteristic for war paintings e.g. “Battle of Grunwald” by Jan Matejko, series of Polaroid photographs “Gravity” can be linked to an aesthetics of fashion/lifestyle magazines. Both pieces were created in Vilnius’ clubs and carry us on through the chaos of city’s night-life. The artist is interested in photography as a memorizing tool. In his works he often exposes details, plays with technical errors. In frames from the series “Gravity” the most important are gestures, human mimics, club gadgets. Background usually disappears. This artist, just like a paparazzi spies on club life asking how the collective identity is created. In works such as “Gravity”, “Žalgiris /Grunwald” Gelduga shows how the mass along with collective identification come into being. The thing that unites us the most is group fun, common enemy – and at the time we face it no longer matters, which football club we support.

Irma Stanaitytė studied philosophy, theology, art, photography, new media. She is University of Kaunas and Academy of Fine Arts in Vilnius graduate, in the last one she works as a lecturer. Her works has been shown in Norway, Austria, Germany, Lithuania and Iceland.

Arturas Bumšteinas is an audiovisual artist, Lithuanian Music&Theatre Academy graduate. He composes electroacoustic music. His pieces border on visual and musical arts. The artist experiments with sounds and images continuing neo-avantgarde explorations. Works of Bumšteinas has been presented on more than 30 exhibitions in whole Europe. He lives and works in Warsaw and Vilnius.

Ugnius Gelguda graduated from Academy of Fine Arts in Vilnius. Photography is the main medium of his artistic expression. On the one side he is interested in an analysis of its modern “language”, on the other he uses it as a tool for social observations, notes. His works have been exhibited on individual and collective exhibitions in Lithuania, France, Poland, Russia and more. He lives and works in Vilnius.

BIP

Municipal Institution of Culture