III International Young Artists Festival Art Session 2014 collection on the Vilnius Kaliningrad Art Gallery

I have composed the history of the collection for the 3rd international festival of young artists “Art session 2014”in Kaliningrad of thirteen I-VI year students of Graphics art department of Vilnius Art Academy and two young this department lecturers’ works (their works were necessary to expand graphics art context). It is interesting that the structure of the collection was determined by geographic aspect. Due to that, Vilnius exposition in the exhibition may be read according to two scenarios: as a social/historical narrative and as a reconsideration of the nature of graphics art in the contemporary context of art and fine arts studies in the academy. As a curator of the collection, I consciously focused on graphics, as I believe that it encompasses essential aspects of art field. Moreover, for me as the head of VAA graphics art studies department, it was important to verify whether it was possible to arrange an exhibition of the works of students’- future professionals’ of graphics art.

I saw the collection of graphics art as an exhibition in the exhibition, with its own narrative. My vision was- moving from one piece of art to another a particular story would be created, the story that appeared only because they were exhibited in this state, in this gallery space, in  that way, in that time and together to think about the print, the main attribute of graphics art,  boundaries’ disappearance aspects.

Majority of the participants of the exhibition are young people who were born in 1990’s, in special time. Current students, trying to understand themselves and their parents’ generation, through art are looking for hooks in past habits, things, decisions, that according to their opinion developed and are still developing them as personalities. Algirdas Jakas, using etching and aquatic techniques on zinc plates, employs himself as a fake architect who is now completing to construct earlier started and unfinished soviet architectural objects. Danielė Streikutė, developing artistic research discovers that things telling about soviet heritage have become the home of her memory, experiences and personal revelations. Rugilė Vilčiauskaitė’s carpet story could be a story of any family, when it was very hard to get things that it was painful even to walk on it, not talking about throwing it away. So she creates a carpet book, unbinding the thing from its physical state, preserving the essence.  Vladimir Leleiva with a lead pencil, ascetic means in contemporary variety of technologies, draws illustrations of communal life so convincingly, that it seems as if you are watching a silent movie and at the same time smell the kitchen odours and hear nonstop working radio. It is real 3D effect. Milda Dainovskytė, using Google street view first time visited Kaliningrad, as you do not need visa and feel safe and the impressions from the trip transformed into cosy aquatint etchings. Lina Itagaki from images found in cyberspace collects ideas for books. The images like subconscious mind flow turns into screen printing. Sandro Botticelli Venus was born on one fold, and Lenin’s sculpture flies to cosmos. Whereas Justina Bukantaitė’s assemblages are constructed of rough, that times every day things with jeweller accuracy and sacramental aesthetics. All these things, squeaking, served their function.

Talking about graphics art perception and conceptualization of technology itself, it is a very interesting project of Anastasija Sosunova with classical intaglio printing technology visualized sound. Watching Gabija Vidrinskaitė’s colourful, almost perfectly aesthetical prints, as every day meditations, catch yourself thinking how beautiful colour graphics is. Therefore, a colourful book of Aistė Papartytė is exhibited nearby. For its creation she successfully chose screen printing technology, favoured by pop art representatives, for full of sarcasm elements current issues of contemporary plot. The game has been continued by Miglė Pužaitė, who backed her book’s textual part, and visual part was created using digital technologies. A letter here is a fragile, edible, easily consumed element of installation that destroys a hierarchy of relevance and believes. Matas Dūda created his prints with the assistance of the bees that he keeps. Through the hands of the creator information moves to the process of harvesting the honey from beehives, creation becomes every day and every day becomes creation. There are no clear boundaries. Like in Marija Marcelionytė-Paliukė’s exactly one year experiment, the maker of the print was time. The role of the artist is to be an ideas generator, respectful observer who does not interfere into the nature processes. The most sensitive graphics expression monotype imaging, frequently was not ever treated as real graphics. That constant unawareness of what will be reproduced reminds falling into abyss, even though nearby there is a modern working escalator, you do not use it, you run the risk. This state is transmitted by Živilė Minkutė monotypes. Then the gaze moves to Dominykas Canderis’ lithography, where the hand movements of a young person inform us about the state of implied flight, even though the object is deeply stuck here and now. You are entirely free, but where to fly if you have no idea or you have too many options.

 Vilnius collection curator/ Head of Graphics art deptartment/ Marija Marcelionytė-Paliukė