October 7 In the project area of the international contemporary art fair "ArtVilnius'22", which is opening its doors, the Lewben Art Foundation will present an exposition analyzing ecological problems "Do Octopuses Dream about People?" Works from the Lewben Art Foundation Collection" ("Do Octopuses Dream of People? Works from the Lewben Art Foundation Collection"). It was curated by one of the most famous Lithuanian curators, Valentinas Klimašauskas. The exhibition will feature works from the private collection of the Lewben Art Foundation.
The idea of the exhibition is based on ecological issues
"The theme of this year's art fair is ecology, and the richness of any ecosystem is emphasized by diversity and abundance. As a curator, I was particularly inspired by the stylistic and material abundance of sculptures interpreting the human figure in the Lewben Art Foundation collection. I am sure that this exhibition will create the conditions for the audience to look speculatively, maybe even from the perspective of an imaginary octopus, both at this collection and at the limits of human imagination or themselves", says the curator of the exhibition, Valentinas Klimašauskas.
Inspired by the diversity of the Lewben Art Foundation's collection of figurative works, through creative speculation and misidentification, this exhibition aims to promote a new approach to both art history and the said collection. This collection of very different authors, periods, and styles drifts between several topical and problematic topics, like an army of art objects sunk at the bottom of the ocean or a chessboard dreamed up by an octopus.
The exhibition asks, what kind of human sculptures would octopuses sculpt if they were sculptors? Creatures pushing starfish on the ocean floor with eight legs, changing their body patterns and colors in a dream, or maybe even creating a disguised portrait of you on it?
"We are glad that the Lewben Art Foundation joined this "city within a city" ecosystem proposed and created by project zone curator Valentino Klimašauskas. In the past, we presented artists and institutions as individual projects in the project area, and this year, for the first time, all these impressive projects at the fair were combined into a common concept, a common ecosystem," says Diana Stomienė, head of the ArtVilnius art fair.
"For the eighth year, we are not only the special partner of the international contemporary art fair ArtVilnius - we present the exhibition of the art fund Lewben Art Foundation belonging to our group in the project area. We want our consistent patronage of art and culture to become an example, and this long-term cooperation with the ArtVilnius fair would be another impulse to draw public attention to the need to strengthen patronage. This year, the theme of "ArtVilniaus" is ecology, which is also an important part of our business processes. We see ecology and sustainability as both a challenge and an opportunity to create new solutions that are better for people and the environment. We will also develop the theme of ecology in our Lewben Art Foundation exhibition," says Rita Kavaliauskienė, director of Lewben and member of the board of the Lewben Art Foundation.
Next to well-known Lithuanian artists, there are world-famous creators
"This year, for the first time in the exhibition curated by us, we will also present the sculpture "Fat Car" by one of the most famous Austrian artists, Erwin Wurm. He in 2017 represented Austria at the Venice Biennale. E. Wurm interprets the chubby version of the original sports model with his creation - a bloated, fat Porsche. Based on the problem of obesity, E. Wurm examines the relationship between power, wealth and body weight. He also wants to sharply criticize our current value system, which is inseparable from the ever-increasing topic of global warming and ecological catastrophe. In the exhibition, next to E. Wurm's sculpture, a real-size electric Porsche joins the exhibition, thus emphasizing the deepening issue of global warming.
The architecture of the exhibition responds to both the curatorial idea and ecological issues
According to the architect of the exhibition Aurim Syrus ("IMPLMNT architects"), the idea of the exhibition came from the text of the curator Valentino Klimašauskas, including, in the opinion of the architects, several important aspects. First of all, it is the motive of the exchange of roles. In the exhibition, the viewer becomes an object when the roles of man and octopus are reversed, thereby making sense of the ecological aspect, when not a man looks at an octopus, but an octopus at a man, which is reflected in the title of the exhibition "Do Octopus Dream about People?".
"The structure of the exhibition consists of a podium on which the viewer walks, and the works are in the environment. Also, thinking about ecological issues in our global world, we want to make sense of sustainability in the exhibition, so we use elements from past Lewben Art Foundation exhibitions in the exhibition, in this case - from the architecture of the exhibition Collecting Hits (2018), - says one of the architects of the exhibition A. Syrus.
The exhibition also presents new works from the Lewben Art Foundation collection
According to Ugnė Bužinskaitė, director of the Lewben Art Foundation, this year's exhibition will feature works from different periods: both the XNUMXth century the works of modernist classics, as well as the works of contemporary Lithuanian and foreign creators. "Among them are not only the works that came to our collection before, but also the new ones, the authors of which are artists who have not been exhibited in Lithuania so far, e.g. Zhang Huan (China), Solly Cisse (Dakar), Krystian Truth Czaplicki (Poland). We will also present the works of Lithuanian artists Mindaugas Navakas, Robert Narkaus, Deimantas Narkevičius, Vytautas Kumža and Pauliaus Makauskas.
The exhibition will be complemented by the video work "Honey for Blood" lent by Miša Skalskis, and during the presentation of the exhibition, a musical performance created by the artist duo Liudmila, specially adapted for the exhibition, will be shown.
Artists presented in the exhibition: Robertas Antinis, Neil Beloufa, Tomas Daukša, Indrikis Gelzis, Zuza Golinska, Hugh Hayden, Zhang Huan, Audrius Janušonis, Matas Janušonis, Rūta Jusionytė, Geistė Kinčinaitytė, Vytautas Kumža, Jacques Lipchitz, Vitas Luckus, Paulius Makauskas, Emmanuel Mané-Katz, Deimantas Narkevičius, Robertas Narkus, Mindaugas Navakas, Marc Petit, Gabriele de Santis, Andres Serrano, Erwin Wurm.
Curator - Valentinas Klimašauskas.
Architecture - "IMPLMNT architects", graphic design - Vilius Dringelis. The 13th international contemporary art fair "ArtVilnius'22" will be held on October 7-9. "Litexpo".
