Drawings created after spending some time in a hospital ward, inpatient, during a pandemic. Inspired by real events and people. On December 1, at 18 p.m., the capital's gallery "Meno niša" invites you to the opening of the exhibition "Plastic crow" of drawings by the winner of the National Prize, Gintaras Makarevičius.
According to G. Makarevičius, the oil pastel technique provides an opportunity to approach painting with oil paints and, due to its plastic properties, helps convey intense psychophysical experiences tactilely. "The drawing format is not as cumbersome as other techniques, painting on canvas or other surfaces. The spontaneous start of drawing is important, so the creative process of drawing, which requires little preparation, is both convenient and productive", said the artist about his upcoming exhibition.
According to the artist, the drawings created in the hospital ward, inpatient, during the pandemic are inspired by real events and people. Due to the impact of the intense environment, he also awakened the reflections of experiences he had once lived, and together with his usual resolution of drawing, he stirred into sometimes phantasmagoric motifs.
"One of the more important reasons for the appearance and creation of this kind of drawings is therapy. By drawing, I "unload" the fear of uncertainty about the future that I experience in the present and, probably, it can be said that I sublimate in this way the ethics of not drawing a war in which I am not directly involved," said the artist. Curator of the exhibition "Plastic crow" - Dainius Liškevičius, consultant - Linas Jablonskis.
"It is a great honor for us to represent G. Makarevičius' painterly, on-paper side of creativity. We waited four years for the artist's second exhibition in the gallery. This year, "Meno niša" is celebrating its 20th birthday, which we will end with this exhibition of G. Makarevičius's drawings in the gallery's spaces," said Diana Stomienė, head of the "Meno niša" gallery.
G. Makarevičius – painter, scenographer, video artist, documentary filmmaker. At the beginning, he studied architecture, but after becoming interested in painting, he continued his studies at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, Department of Painting. 1997th century in the 1995s, like many artists of his generation, he changed his brush to a video camera (although he has not abandoned drawing and painting to this day) and debuted in the art field as an artist of modern media - a creator of installations, objects and documentaries, becoming one of the first in XNUMX. founded by the members of the Union of Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Art Creators. Since XNUMX taught by VDA.
G. Makarevičius has participated in many prestigious international contemporary art exhibitions, such as the contemporary art biennial "Manifesta 4" in Germany (2002) or the international film festival "La Rochelle" in France (2005). His works have been acquired by the contemporary art museum KIASMA in Finland, MO Museum and private collectors, and the series of wooden objects "Hair I, II, III, IV" created in the early period of creativity can be seen in the permanent exposition of the National Art Gallery.
G. Makarevičius' artistic activity also includes scenography. Having started his activity in the theater in 1997, he is now one of the most prominent Lithuanian scenographers, creating scenography in Lithuanian and foreign theaters. As a stage designer, G. Makarevičius was awarded three "Golden stage crosses". in 2017 the artist was awarded the Lithuanian National Culture and Art Prize.
In the field of painting, the artist presented himself more clearly in 2016, when he opened the exhibition "Surrender" in the VDA exhibition halls "Titanikas". in 2018 his painting was presented in the project area of the art fair "ArtVilnius'18", the same year his personal painting exhibition "Time Trap" was opened in the gallery "Meno niša".
The exhibition of G. Makarevičius's drawings "Plastic crow" will be open from December 1 to January 1 in the gallery "Meno niša" (J.Basanavičius str. 14). Sponsor of the gallery - Vilnius city municipality.
