X YPP Book
The main aim of the project - to discover new talent in Baltic States.
The main aim of the project - to discover new talent in Baltic States.
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Young<br />
Painter<br />
Prize
Editor: Julija Dailidėnaitė<br />
Translation / Proofreading : Tomas Čiučelis<br />
Design: Toma Brundzaitė / www.brunto.lt<br />
Portrait photography: Augustinas Žukovas, Povilas Ramanauskas, Karen Stentaford<br />
Printer: UAB BALTO print<br />
Edition: 200 vnt.<br />
2009 2018<br />
<strong>YPP</strong> organizer: VšĮ Šiuolaikiniai meno projektai<br />
www.ypp.lt<br />
© Julija Dailidėnaitė<br />
© Toma Brundzaitė<br />
© Young Painter Prize 2018
<strong>YPP</strong><br />
PATRONS
<strong>YPP</strong> PATRONS<br />
Nicolas Ortiz Family<br />
Mindaugas Raila<br />
Lewben Art Foundation<br />
Dali van Rooij Rakutyte<br />
The Bajorunas/Sarnoff Foundation
10<br />
<strong>YPP</strong> PATRONS<br />
At the time when the Young Painter Prize was launched, the situation was not<br />
very favourable for young artists and painting as such. At that time, painting<br />
was regarded as an outdated medium. However, my wife Ina and I were already<br />
involved in the world of art and were actively interested in contemporary art.<br />
What we noticed during our extensive visits to various museums and galleries<br />
throughout the world, was that contemporary artists paid considerable attention<br />
to painting. Thus our decision to support this project came from our desire to<br />
contribute to the popularity of painting among the young generation in our<br />
country.<br />
Another important aspect was our friendship with Vilmantas, whom we have<br />
known for a long time and whom we hold in high regard. As soon as he shared his<br />
idea about the Young Painter Prize with us, we realised that it deserved serious<br />
consideration.<br />
The support for this type of project was clearly in line with my personal<br />
understanding of sponsorship. I believe that a young person can benefit even<br />
from a small impulse that would motivate him/her to do what he/she loves to<br />
do. The idea that the <strong>YPP</strong> project would aim at helping someone who is already<br />
on their path and makes efforts to improve their skills but is not yet established<br />
in the world of art, was especially appealing to me. The <strong>YPP</strong> a springboard that<br />
helps young artists to take off and enter the wider waters — namely, go abroad<br />
and start an international career, become recognizable and valued, discover<br />
buyers of their works in their own country, and even become established players<br />
in the global art world.<br />
The main idea behind the Young Painter Prize project is helping artists to break<br />
through by giving them an impulse, rather than by simply giving, which was<br />
exactly what encouraged I become a part of this project.<br />
Mindaugas Raila<br />
Patron of the Project
12<br />
<strong>YPP</strong> PATRONS<br />
We began sponsoring the Young Painter Prize as soon as the Lewben Art<br />
Foundation was established six years ago. Back then, we already realised that the<br />
<strong>YPP</strong> will not only act as an important stepping stone for young and freshly<br />
graduated artists who find themselves at the beginning of their careers, but will<br />
also facilitate their integration into the art market.<br />
Getting noticed by art collectors, gallerists and curators — these are only a few<br />
ways that the <strong>YPP</strong> benefits young artists. Quite a few of the awardees are already<br />
among the most successful painters in the country.<br />
The <strong>YPP</strong> has been very beneficial to the Lewben Art Foundation as well —<br />
we discovered brilliant painters such as Andrius Zakarauskas, Adomas<br />
Danusevičius, Linas Jusionis, Jonas Jurcikas, Kristina Ališauskaitė, Auksė<br />
Miliukaitė and Vita Opolskytė. The Foundation is now proud to have included<br />
their works in its collection.<br />
The Foundation congratulates the <strong>YPP</strong> organisers with this impressive<br />
anniversary and wishes further successes in their tireless nourishment of<br />
young art.<br />
Vilius Kavaliauskas<br />
Chair of the Board of Directors<br />
Lewben Art Foundation
Regarding<br />
the<br />
Limits<br />
14<br />
When I was a student, I wished to go beyond the limits. Beyond the traditional<br />
painting, beyond the stereotypical thinking, beyond the country borders. I always<br />
wanted to know and explore the world — both cultural and social — that was<br />
somewhere out there, unreachable to us during the Soviet era, and difficult to<br />
access even during the first years of Independence.<br />
My current self is the result of my hard work that came as a response to my<br />
desire to break outside the boundaries of Lithuania while I was still in my<br />
formative years. I was driven by the need to compare my works with the works<br />
of foreign artists, I wanted to develop, gain experience, make new contacts, and<br />
‘cling to something.’ During my years of study and right after the graduation,<br />
I was actively applying for residencies, exhibitions, competitions, and cultural<br />
programs supervised by the then Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Lithuania.<br />
Places like the United States of America, Japan, Scandinavia, Europe, the UAE,<br />
and South Africa seemed hard to reach back then. But when I got to my first<br />
residences, I realized that the world was near and that we were part of it.<br />
My professional development has been influenced greatly by my first artist<br />
residency in the Nordic Artist’s Center Dale, Norway (1998). Artist residencies<br />
provide a great experience that allows you to position yourself as a creator,<br />
interact with artists from other countries, and encounter the cultural differences.<br />
In other words, artist residencies not only expand your horizons, but they are the<br />
places to expand your contact list through discovering new friends and meeting<br />
like-minded people. For example, the ARTOMI residency (New York, USA, 2004)<br />
was rich with both creative challenges and inspired learning. I had a chance to<br />
work with Mithu Sen, one of the most prominent Indian contemporary artists<br />
with whom we still maintain a relationship.<br />
In my early works I was reflecting on the influences of the traditional Lithuanian<br />
painting. At that time, my painting was stood out slightly from the Lithuanian<br />
painting school; however, there were signs of continuity as well. In my early<br />
works I was rngonsthe traditional . I cannot speak highly enough of the<br />
importance that the support of colleagues, friends and people of competence<br />
has to an up-and-coming artist. For instance, I remember so vividly how Kostas<br />
Dereškevičius described my painting as “almost the New Wild.” ;a I also<br />
remember how the curator of ArtGENDA (1996), a Danish young artist biennale,<br />
motivated me by saying that he could see Bazelitz in my works!<br />
I especially inspired by the positive reactions of my peers and seniors. To me, my<br />
tutor Adomas Jacovskis’ comment — “How much impudence one must have to<br />
paint like that” — that he made in 1995 still remains one of the highest<br />
appraisals of my work. Having positive imprudence and disregarding the<br />
principles of ‘moral art’ is a good trait for an artist of any age.<br />
I felt compelled to help the future generations of artists because of the<br />
experiences I had myself. This is my acknowledgement to all those who stood by<br />
me throughout my whole life, those who advised, encouraged and supported me.<br />
By creating the Young Painter Prize platform we were aiming to help young<br />
artists to enter the world of art and introduce them to the important and<br />
necessary people who would stimulate, motivate and inspire them to reach for<br />
their artistic heights.<br />
Vilmantas Marcinkevičius<br />
Painter<br />
Initiator of the Young Painter Prize
<strong>YPP</strong> ORGANIZERS<br />
JULIJA DAILIDĖNAITĖ<br />
VILMANTAS MARCINKEVIČIUS
Painting<br />
Today:<br />
More<br />
Visible<br />
than<br />
Ever<br />
18<br />
‘Is painting dead?’ We have been hearing this question for so long now that any<br />
attempts to bring it up might already come across as a bit tedious. The medium<br />
of painting has been declared obsolete at least twice: the first assault came in<br />
the mid-19th century with the emergence of the medium of photography, and<br />
the second one came at the turn of the 20th century with the rise of<br />
contemporary and conceptual art.betweena However, such a standoff between<br />
the media is absolutely meaningless. Painting was and still is one of the main<br />
and leading forms of art. The world’s largest museums are constantly enriching<br />
their collections with the impressive paintings of both famous up-and-coming<br />
artists, and painting exhibitions keep generating a lot of extremely positive<br />
feedback in the professional press that gives a lot of attention to the return of<br />
painting and its longevity.<br />
Today painting is more visible than ever. Without trying to diminish the role of<br />
of other forms of art, I believe that, compared to painting, conceptual art seems<br />
elitist, incomprehensible and invisible. In any case, both traditional painting and<br />
conceptual art are levelling up. As a result, we are increasingly seeing paintings<br />
in the exhibitions of contemporary conceptual art, and the artists who are using<br />
the traditional painting techniques are now adopting the ideas of conceptual art<br />
and interpreting the medium of painting more freely. Paradoxically, a tendency<br />
to return to this so-called traditional technique is becoming increasingly<br />
pronounced among the artists who have built their careers in the field of<br />
contemporary art.<br />
In any case, the Young Painter Prize is not aiming to convince the younger<br />
generation of the superiority of painting. Our goal is to create an opportunity for<br />
all young artists engaged in painting to get noticed, encouraged and appreciated<br />
disregarding of their artistic areaget. After having been actively observing the<br />
field for more than a decade, I can now clearly see the difference. Many things<br />
have saw a lot of changes, starting with the changing attitudes of institutions,<br />
buyers and collectors of art, and also the attitudes of the older generations of<br />
artists, and ending with to the most important things — the courage and<br />
confidence of the young, curious and creative people themselves.<br />
Thanks to our project, young artists get the opportunity to represent their art to<br />
the most influential people in the world of art. The <strong>YPP</strong> offers various forms of<br />
support: a monetary prize, an artist residence and an opportunity to organize a<br />
personal exhibition. In fact, it is a package of opportunities that any artist<br />
concerned with their career development can be entitled to comes down to.<br />
I am glad that the majority of the nominees who did not win the main prizes in<br />
the <strong>YPP</strong> project have also made great use of our platform: they received<br />
attention from professional art galleries, they were invited to take part in<br />
important group exhibitions, and their works have been added to the museums<br />
and private collections. The <strong>YPP</strong> benefits young creatives by providing them<br />
with a moral incentive to continue their work, creating a great record in their<br />
biographies, and shaping their careers.<br />
Julija Dailidėnaitė<br />
Art Critic<br />
Young Painter Prize Organizer
A<br />
decade<br />
of<br />
young<br />
art<br />
20<br />
by Justė Augustytė<br />
Art Critic<br />
Apart from the discoveries and inventions, there are also challenges and risks<br />
that the up-and-coming artists have to face. Artists find themselves<br />
particularly vulnerable right after their graduation: no longer protected by their<br />
student status, with their work still largely unknown, without any ties with<br />
galleries and institutions, they have to struggle to get noticed and find their<br />
place in the art world. This circularity of their situation can be well illustrated by<br />
the statement “There is no exposure without prominence, but there is no<br />
prominence without exposure” — an observation made by the organisers of<br />
‘Zugzwang’, an international show of the Baltic art held in 2010. Thus young<br />
artists are an extremely precarious and vulnerable category — they are often in<br />
need of a ‘proper’ help with boosting and shaping their careers. Here it is<br />
important to note that institutional and non-institutional initiatives play the<br />
most important roles in supporting young artists and facilitating their integration<br />
into the art market.<br />
The relationship between artists and institutions is often complicated. It was<br />
only recently, when the very use of the expressions ‘young artists’ and<br />
‘institutions’ in the same sentence was still causing tensions. Institutions used to<br />
be associated with the established — and, consequently, older — authors, which<br />
was why being a ‘young artist’ implied an alternative opposition to the<br />
institutions. Institutional mentality and the creative freedoms of the young<br />
generation seemed utterly incompatible. Contrary to the institutionalised<br />
authors, the young thus remained largely invisible to both professional art critics<br />
and wider audiences. In order to compensate for the lack of their institutional<br />
representation, young artists were prone to gather into various groups, thus<br />
sharing their burdens of organising group exhibitions.
There are various governmental strategies aimed at supporting young artists,<br />
which is among the top priorities of the national cultural policy, and the Program<br />
for the Support of Young Artists approved by the Government of the Republic<br />
of Lithuania in 2003 envisions several forms of that support. The governmental<br />
initiative is thus a significant step towards providing young artists with the<br />
necessary support, however a full assessment of the Program would require a<br />
separate analysis. It is worth mentioning that, for a number of years now,<br />
individual and educational stipends as well as nationally funded residencies<br />
have been significant factors in helping the young artists in their daily lives,<br />
increasing their mobility and productivity, and thus proving to be a significant<br />
way of fostering the creative output of the young. The young creatives —<br />
particularly those who manage to rise into prominence in the early stages of<br />
their careers and demonstrate their contribution to the national culture — are<br />
awarded by the Culture Ministry of the Republic of Lithuania with The Debut<br />
of the Year Award and the Young Creatives Award. Involvement of the private<br />
capital is often regarded as a more significant and more efficient way to directly<br />
contribute to the young art scene. Acknowledgement by the big national<br />
institutions might be more significant, but due to their limited funds they are less<br />
able to substantially contribute to the careers of the young. Therefore the fact<br />
that the governmental institutions of the art field are joined by private sponsors<br />
and buyers can only result in wider professional networks, increased<br />
collaborative possibilities, as well as a more dynamic and competitive art market.<br />
The traditions of art collecting and sponsorship began only a few years ago.<br />
Because of their unstable careers, young artists used to be seen by art collectors<br />
as a risky investment. Thus it is no surprise that both private and institutional<br />
capital are in need of encouragement. Lithuanian art community is relatively<br />
small, and even private art market often requires support from the State funds,<br />
which is understandable — any cases of cultural support, even on the level of<br />
private initiatives, should be considered as part of the national cultural policy. As<br />
far as young art is concerned, concerted efforts and multiple sources of<br />
investment can only lead to the best results.<br />
22<br />
THE YOUNG PAINTER PRIZE: CHANGES<br />
The Young Painter Prize was conceived precisely as an initiative that consolidates<br />
various participants of the art field, and it proved to be one of the most<br />
successful non-institutional projects of that kind. Notably, its birth coincided<br />
with the financial crisis of 2009 that affected all aspects of the country’s life,<br />
obviously including its culture sector as well. In order to bring their project to<br />
life, the organisers — painter Vilmantas Marcinkevičius art theorist Julija<br />
Dailidėnaitė — had to face difficult conditions. While institutions were busy<br />
adopting the austerity measures, the organisers had to look for the alternative<br />
ways to reinvigorate the art market. The nation-wide financial slowdown has<br />
also led to the formation of trans-institutional cooperation and non-institutional<br />
initiatives. When the art market started stagnating, a relatively cheap work of the<br />
young artists proved to be a good source of interest for both art collectors and<br />
the general public, thus showing a potential for reinvigorating the art market.<br />
The organisers had ambitious goals: to showcase the most promising and<br />
outstanding young (younger than 30) painters; introduce the young artists to a<br />
wide public; and help art collectors, managers and curators discover new talents.<br />
After making a modest start in 2009 with the applications from 28 Lithuanian<br />
artists, in 2011 the <strong>YPP</strong> Award turned international after it opened its doors to<br />
the young painters of Latvia and Estonia. Over a period of a decade, the <strong>YPP</strong><br />
Award grew into a one of the biggest annual events in the Lithuanian art scene.<br />
The <strong>YPP</strong> Award remains one of the most successful examples of both<br />
institutional and non-institutional collaboration between the governmental<br />
and private sectors. By taking part in the Award Committee and making efforts<br />
to promote and ensure the continuity of <strong>YPP</strong>, the institutional partners are also<br />
contributing to the buildup of its so-called ‘symbolic capital,’ while sponsors and<br />
patrons are taking care of <strong>YPP</strong>’s material basis. The Award winners are motivated<br />
both financially (in the form of cash prizes, residency invitations, and solo shows)<br />
and symbolically (through prominence and exposure). While young artists<br />
often tend to take their accomplishments with a pinch of salt, they also admit<br />
that acknowledgement is always pleasant and inspiring. Therefore art<br />
competitions are regarded not only as sources of financial incentives but also as<br />
a way to build an identity and become acknowledged by the art world<br />
professionals, the press, and the general public. For an up-and-coming artist,<br />
publicity and promotion are among the most important career catalysts. Thanks<br />
to today’s technological advancements, artists are able to publicise and share<br />
their work via online galleries and social networks thus reaching out to their<br />
audiences independently. However most of the up-and-coming artists are lacking<br />
in the capacity to present their work professionally. Meanwhile the <strong>YPP</strong> Award<br />
receives a wide press coverage and dominates both public and private discourses<br />
among the art professionals, and it certainly contributes to the popularisation<br />
and promotion of young art. The participants get noticed by the art critics,
24<br />
curators, and gallerists, while their work is promoted and contextualised by<br />
the professional press. Apparently, the Award had also brought the question of<br />
young art back into discourses of art theory as well. Every year the <strong>YPP</strong>-inspired<br />
polemics leads us to rethink the status of a young artist, identify the trends in<br />
painting, and examine the individual aspirations.<br />
The <strong>YPP</strong> Award had also contributed to the rehabilitation of painting as such. In<br />
the context of contemporary art, painting has been regarded as somewhat<br />
secondary: too old-fashioned, too traditional, not conceptual enough. The<br />
popularisation of young painters eventually led to the contemporary painting<br />
itself becoming popular again. The Award had demonstrated that contemporary<br />
painting can be just as important a participant in the contemporary art scene as<br />
any other discipline, and it can be innovative and relevant without loosing touch<br />
with the tradition. Art theorists, artists, and viewers find the geography of the<br />
Award particularly advantageous as it allows them to discover the specificities<br />
that are not only national, but also regional. This way the capital city gets to<br />
know more about the lesser known artists from other towns, while Lithuanians<br />
get more acquainted with Latvians and Estonians, and vice versa. The artists<br />
themselves thus have an opportunity to meet each other and develop creative<br />
partnerships that often end up in group shows and successful collaborations.<br />
Apart from making the young artists visible to the art professionals and cultural<br />
press, the <strong>YPP</strong> Award also performs an educational mission. In their<br />
determination to bring the art of painting to a wide audience through the use of<br />
understandable language and attractive format, the Award organisers are<br />
staying true to a general tendency towards the democratisation of culture that<br />
aims to oppose the image of the art world as a hermetic, elitist, and<br />
self-referential sphere. While the forms of this democratisation remain a matter<br />
of an ongoing debate, one thing is sure: it is already having an undoubtedly<br />
positive effect on the visibility of the young artists. Every year the Award<br />
becomes eagerly awaited for by both artists and gallery-goers — in fact, it has<br />
now turned into one of the most popular and most visited annual events of the<br />
Lithuanian art world. One would like to believe that the project will justify its<br />
international status and will find its audiences in other countries as well.<br />
The last decade saw a variety of participants. Some of them have made it to the<br />
<strong>YPP</strong> finalist shows only to fade into an oblivion afterward. However the majority<br />
of the finalists managed to remain on track, and their names keep reappearing in<br />
the finalist lists year after year. Quite a few of them have not only outgrown their<br />
‘young artist’s’ clothes, but brought their art to a new level and joined the ranks<br />
of the most influential Lithuanian painters. Their artworks are now noticeable in<br />
all the major events of contemporary art across the whole Baltic region, and their<br />
names appear even in a global context of contemporary art fairs and<br />
competitions. And, of course, in addition to the ‘basis’ of the established names,<br />
each year brings some new discoveries and surprises. The history of the <strong>YPP</strong><br />
Award can thus be seen as a concise history of contemporary Lithuanian painting.
26<br />
THE NEXT DECADE: POSSIBILITIES<br />
The <strong>YPP</strong> Award was conceived during the transitional time in Lithuanian culture.<br />
The opportunities that the young artists are offered today are rather different<br />
from those they had only a decade ago. <strong>YPP</strong>’s bold start and its successful<br />
integration into the Lithuanian art world inspired the emergence of other similar<br />
projects aimed at the promotion of young art. In 2010 Lithuanian Photographers<br />
Association successfully revived the ‘Debut’ Award, an annual competition that<br />
used to be held during the period of 1970s–80s. The year 2011 saw the<br />
successful launch of the Young Designer Prize, a now widely acknowledged<br />
annual award that has a similar format as <strong>YPP</strong>. The JCDecaux Award, an annual<br />
competition for the young contemporary Lithuanian artists has been launched in<br />
2016 and is now gaining its momentum as well. Starting with 2016, young<br />
contemporary artists from around the Baltic region are free to take part in the<br />
Baltic Young Artist Award, an initiative that has recently grown into the Nordic &<br />
Baltic Young Artist Award.<br />
The last decade saw a notable intensification of the activities of the Lithuanian<br />
galleries. Even though many galleries are openly declaring their support for and<br />
interest in young art, only a few of them are actually working with young artists.<br />
Established in 2008, The Rooster Gallery was one of the first galleries that<br />
started working exclusively with the young art graduates. Notably, at the time<br />
the gallery was considering itself as a non-institutional alternative to the<br />
traditional and rigid institutions. It was also one of the first mobile galleries<br />
without a permanent exhibition space. Due to the absence of the tradition of<br />
working with the young artists the gallery had to develop its own practices<br />
through experimental heuristics. The Rooster Gallery was growing along with the<br />
artists it represented, and over the last decade it became one of the most active<br />
participants in the Lithuanian art scene, while other newly established galleries<br />
started following its lead.<br />
The older and more established galleries are growing more interested in the<br />
young artists as well. In 2011 the “Meno parkas” Gallery launched the project<br />
“The Young: Raw Minds,” while the “Vartai” Gallery has been holding its<br />
“Thursday Previews” for a few years. Here we should also mention the<br />
galleries “Meno niša” and “AV17” as active popularisers of young art, not to<br />
mention the Vilnius Academy of Arts Gallery that regularly showcases the art<br />
of its students and graduates. The question of young art is attended to in other<br />
cities as well: Kaunas is hosting young art in the galleries such as “Meno parkas,”<br />
“101,” “POST,” and Vytautas Magnus University Art Gallery, while both Klaipėda<br />
Culture Communication Centre and Šiauliai Art Gallery are known for their<br />
projects aiming at the local young artists and curators.<br />
Gradually the spectrum of the young-art-related activities is becoming wider<br />
and the art field is constantly joined by the new participants open to use the<br />
non-traditional approaches and eager to employ new forms of curatorial work<br />
through artist residencies, education, etc. The year 2011 saw the opening of Nida<br />
Art Colony, followed by the launch of the Rupert Centre for Art and Education in<br />
2012. Opened in 2016, “Editorial” Project Space is focused on curating various<br />
non-traditional art practices. The same year the art lab “SHCH/ŠČ” and its<br />
partners launched the “Tapybos maršrutizatoriai” project, an initiative that<br />
showcases the work of young painters on the city trolleybuses. Lithuanian art<br />
world is also ripe with various private and communal initiatives such as<br />
“Malonioji 6” (opened in 2012) which later expanded into its more<br />
institutionalised version “Sodų 4.”<br />
The young art scene is actively shaped by cultural press. Since its launch in<br />
2011, an online magazine Echo Gone Wrong has been showcasing the work of<br />
contemporary artists and critics from around the whole Baltic region; for a<br />
number of years now artnews.lt remains one of the central online hubs for<br />
contemporary Lithuanian art news; “7 meno dienos” is a Lithuanian culture<br />
weekly that has been active for over two decades, and in 2015 it introduced<br />
“m-pages”, an editorial section dedicated to the up-and-coming artists.<br />
Contemporary art market is positively impacted by the growth of the large<br />
private collections largely comprised of the works of contemporary young artists.<br />
Apart from artwork collection curation and administration, organisations such as<br />
MO Museum (formerly known as Modern Art Centre) and Lewben Art Foundation<br />
are also fostering the gallery life and sponsoring various art publishing<br />
initiatives. Young artists are given a lot of attention at the Art Vilnius, a<br />
contemporary art fair that has been giving the Best Young Artist Award to its<br />
participants since 2009.<br />
The partnership between art and business is strengthened through various<br />
collaborations between governmental and private art institutions. This makes a<br />
positive impact not only on the visibility and prominence of young artists, but on<br />
the vitality of the art world as such. Young artists are now being showcased in all<br />
the key art institutions both national and private, and their artworks are included<br />
in private art collections. They no longer have to wait until they are of a<br />
‘respectable age’ in order for their artworks to finally be acquired by the national<br />
art institutions. The system is far from perfect (do such things even exist?) but it<br />
is gaining the momentum and it certainly justifies our hopes for the better.<br />
Finally, the expression ‘a successful young artist’ is no longer considered an<br />
oxymoron.
Changes<br />
in<br />
the<br />
Everyday<br />
practices<br />
in<br />
the<br />
Estonian<br />
Art<br />
Scene<br />
By Merilin Talumaa<br />
28<br />
OVERVIEW OF THE INSTITUTIONAL PATTERNS<br />
An overview of the young generation of Estonian artists would be impossible<br />
without a reflection on how the local art scene benefited from the general changes<br />
at the institutional level. There have been significant changes during the past<br />
six years (although their origins go back further in time)—a period during which<br />
a new generation of artists, curators, critics, directors and project managers have<br />
emerged. In contrast to the previous times, their roles are often intertwined and<br />
their everyday work is directed outwards, toward achieving international cooperation<br />
and acknowledgement.<br />
The Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center (ECADC), a noteworthy newcomer<br />
in the local art scene, started its work in 2012 under the direction of Karin<br />
Laansoo. Although at first the aims of ECADC seemed similar to those of the Center<br />
for Contemporary Arts Estonia (CCAE, since 2013 directed by Maria Arusoo,<br />
the commissioner of the Estonian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 1999, and<br />
a co-commissioner of the Baltic Triennial since 2016), ECADC proved itself to be<br />
active on an even bigger scale. The ECADC has initiated a significant part of large<br />
scale international projects, including Outset Estonia, Estonian Pavillion Without<br />
Walls at the Performa Biennial 2017, the Curatorial Program for Research, and<br />
Gallerist Master Course. This activity has played a big part in the careers of many<br />
Estonian artists mainly still in their late 20s, 30s and early 40s, as they were introduced<br />
to the international audiences.
30<br />
Apart from ECADC and CCAE, which both have played an important role in the<br />
professionalisation and internationalisation of the Estonian art scene, there are<br />
number of exhibition spaces that deserve mentioning. 1 Tartu Art Museum<br />
(Tartmus) managed to cause quite a stir with their provocative and socially<br />
engaging exhibitions program during the period of 2013–2017 when the curator<br />
and critic Rael Artel was director of the museum. The transformative aim towards<br />
producing, exhibiting, collecting and popularising local and international<br />
contemporary art has been important for both Tallinn Art Hall and Contemporary<br />
Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM). Since 2015, Tallinn Art Hall is directed by Taaniel<br />
Raudsepp who is also a member of an artist group Visible Solutions LLC. Marten<br />
Esko and Johannes Säre are directors of EKKM since 2016, with Säre also being<br />
active as an artist himself. Artists taking over the leading roles in the large scale<br />
projects has been a growing trend for a while already. Other examples include<br />
Tallinn Photomonth Contemporary Art Biennial (under the management of Laura<br />
Toots, an artistic director since 2017) — a current leading international biennial<br />
in Estonia — and the Estonian Photographic Art Fair, the only art fair in the local<br />
scene (under the direction of Helen Melesk since 2010).<br />
1<br />
A thorough article about the professionalisation and internationalisation of the Estonian art scene is<br />
available in weekly cultural journal Sirp. – Airi Triisberg. Uus põlvkond, vanad probleemid. Sirp, 29.04.2016.<br />
2<br />
http://www.kul.ee/en/artists-and-writers-wage-writer-or-artist-their-creative-peak.<br />
Since 2015 five artists received the wage monthly. Since 2017 the wage is paid out monthly<br />
to eight artists.<br />
A pilot project started by the Estonian Artists’ Union together with the Ministry of<br />
Culture is another important development that causes polemic reactions in the<br />
media. This project aims to provide artists, writers, curators and art critics with a<br />
monthly wage that enables them to dedicate themselves to creative work for a<br />
longer period of time (the wage is paid out for the period of three years)a<br />
significant attempt to contribute to the development of Estonian culture. 2 The<br />
Artists’ Wage Project is definitely one of the most significant steps towards<br />
ecuring a more autonomous and socially stable life for freelance artists, curators<br />
and writers in Estonia.
32<br />
THE YOUNG SCENE<br />
As noted above, today it is not uncommon to be managing and marketing<br />
different projects while also being active as a practicing artist. Precarious<br />
working conditions and project-based lifestyle while producing site-specific<br />
works and organising exhibitions usually don’t have anything glamorous about<br />
them. New works are often produced in different places around the world and,<br />
due to their fragile nature, often break during shipping. A lot of artworks are still<br />
being produced under poor conditions: underpaid or free labour, lack of<br />
institutional help during stages of preparation and promotion of exhibitions, not<br />
to mention the need to produce a lot of new works within a short timeframe with<br />
a low budget and without any long-term vision. These traits have become<br />
apparent in the practices of most of the Estonian artists born in the 1980s and<br />
early 1990s — the so-called ‘millennial generation.’<br />
The first thing that comes to mind when trying to describe the trends among the<br />
younger generation of Estonian artists is their constant migration between<br />
different exhibitions and residencies which is explained by the prevailing desire<br />
to be part of the international art world. All of the aforementioned institutions<br />
have been playing a big role in this phenomenon by maximising the international<br />
cooperation and promoting the Estonian artists. Over time, this resulted not only<br />
in the fragmentation of art production, but also in the fusion between different<br />
cultural references, techniques and materials. This is especially evident in the<br />
work of Kris Lemsalu, one of the most influential young Estonian artists who is<br />
also currently gaining a worldwide prominence. 3 Her nomadic lifestyle bearing a<br />
wide range array of cultural influences is clearly expressed in her works as well<br />
as her personal appearance.<br />
3<br />
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-20-female-artists-pushing-sculpture-forward<br />
Eventually the nomadic and precarious working conditions have become part<br />
of the everyday practices of the whole Estonian millennial generation and have<br />
started to reflect on their creative work. This does not necessarily mean that<br />
their art has become homogenous but rather that its production became more<br />
complex. Young artists tend to prefer to work in bigger teams and in various<br />
locations, produce complex large-scale installations, test different knowledge<br />
bases and material skills, thus also increasing their geographical visibility. This is<br />
also made possible by residencies around the world that provide access to well<br />
equipped studios and professional networks. All this in turn has greatly<br />
influenced artistic media such as painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics and<br />
textile design — e.g., the installations are now becoming increasingly<br />
site-specific.
34<br />
Generally the Estonian millennial art practice seems to be showing the signs of<br />
the DJ mixing culture where different mediums and techniques are intertwined<br />
in order to create mesmerising new works. When describing the young<br />
generation of Estonian painters like Kristi Kongi, Merike Estna, Mihkel Ilus, one<br />
notices a mixture of painting, textile and sculptural works dissolving into a<br />
painting in an ‘expanded field.’ Estna and Ilus are well known for their<br />
performance practices using painting as a set-up for social stage — a form of a<br />
collaborative act intended to bring the audience closer to their works. In Estna’s<br />
performances, painting might not only take a form of a dressing gown, but also<br />
that of a drink, a cake or a carpet, thus creating new ways of perceiving the<br />
layered nature of a painting. Kongi’s large-scale room installations provide a<br />
sensitive ground to new ways of perceiving painting as something fragile and<br />
ephemeral — documentation is often the only thing that remains after the<br />
performances. The process of the disappearance of an artwork is thus turned into<br />
a playful and captivating experience.<br />
There are a yet another couple of aspects that distinguish the visual language of<br />
the young Estonian artists from that of their foreign colleagues — namely, a<br />
certain nostalgia and the raw post-soviet aesthetics. Most of these Estonian<br />
artists spent their childhood and teenage years in the 1990s — a controversial<br />
historical period of remarkable social and political changes. It is notable that<br />
these changes are also prevalent in the art of the millennials as well. Mihkel<br />
Maripuu, whose paintings have been linked to the post-internet culture and<br />
underground music scene, was one of the first artists to start mixing the<br />
cosmopolitan anonymity with the trashy East European aesthetics. In Alexei<br />
Gordin’s paintings, videos and performances, the robust abandoned ruins and<br />
Soviet architectural forms are imbued with a post-soviet nostalgia.<br />
In conclusion, the contemporary Estonian art scene is currently experiencing a<br />
number of changes. Art institutions are run by the new generation of curators,<br />
directors and managers whose roles are often intertwined. The goal of their<br />
work is to make Estonian art scene visible internationally and to help artists<br />
with different aspects of art and exhibition production. On the other hand, their<br />
everyday life and work have also become more layered, and the production of<br />
artworks has become more fragmented due to constant travelling and working in<br />
big teams. Altogether, the young generation of Estonian artists is lead to create<br />
layered and often ephemeral artworks and exhibitions. In the near future, one of<br />
the most important challenges for the growth and viability of the artist<br />
community will be sustainability in terms of labour and the availability of social<br />
and financial resources.
Where<br />
do<br />
you<br />
go<br />
to,<br />
my<br />
lovely?<br />
by Līna Birzaka-Priekule<br />
Art historian and Curator<br />
36<br />
Where<br />
Are<br />
You<br />
Heading<br />
to<br />
Now,<br />
My<br />
Dear<br />
Ones?<br />
The notion of ‘young painter’ contains an inexplicable complication that<br />
becomes apparent when we think about the young painters in Latvia, or<br />
whenever we try to ponder about the meaning of this notion. ,We — the art l<br />
overs — ,are expected to know what is assumed when a painter is called ‘young.’<br />
However this seemingly specific adjectives can be understood rather differently.<br />
When talking to a group of friends — mostly consisting of ‘young artists’ — I was<br />
advised to replace ‘young’ with ‘promising,’ ‘talented’ or ‘emerging’ (which are<br />
also direct translations from English to Latvian). When asked what the notion of<br />
‘young painter’ refers to, my respondents replied that it could be a person under<br />
30, or, perhaps even 35 (in that case, how could the 41 year old Estonian artist<br />
Juhan Soomets have been awarded the Baltic Young Artist Award?) So perhaps a<br />
‘young painter’ should refer to a fresh graduate? Or maybe it all comes down to a<br />
number of exhibitions she participated in, or the kinds of curators she have been<br />
noticed (or, rather, unnoticed) by? How about someone who, after having been<br />
creating video pieces for decades, had suddenly decided to take on painting<br />
(which was exactly the case of Kaspars Groševs, an artist and the head of the 427<br />
Gallery)? The adjective ‘young’ refers to a relatively young of age and we expect<br />
to see someone showing certain characteristics of youth (whatever those would<br />
be); or someone whose professional activity had just begun; or someone who<br />
came into prominence only recently and still has little experience; or someone<br />
who replaced her predecessor. In the light of this maze of interpretations,<br />
we should also have in mind that it is usually somebody else — a critic, curator,<br />
lecturer or viewer — who labels a painter “young” and thus decides on the status<br />
of ‘the emerging.’<br />
Latvian institutional art scene has been trying to showcase the ‘emerging’<br />
painters for quite a while now. The Latvian National Museum of Art has made<br />
three significant contributions by organising the shows that feature young art.
The first show ‘Candy Bomber’ („Našķu bumba“) took place in 2007, and it was<br />
followed by ‘City Children’ „Pilsētas bērni“) in 2010, and ‘Tension’ („Spriedze“) in<br />
2016 1 . In the ‘Candy Bomber’ exhibition catalogue Diāna Barčevska an art<br />
scholar and the author of the show concept, explains that such an initiative arose<br />
in response to the necessity to recognize and reflect on the awareness of the<br />
young artists who have chosen painting as a form of their professional development.<br />
Admittedly, Art Academy of Latvia has a very large proportion of painters<br />
in comparison with the number of students in other departments ( the<br />
Department of Visual Communication is the only competitor). More than ten<br />
young painters graduate from their Bachelor and Master’s studies every year,<br />
which theoretically amount to one ‘young painters’ exhibition per year.<br />
The AAL is not the only institution that supports young painters. In their<br />
statements, the annual SEB Bank Scholarship in Painting claim to be fostering<br />
new and contemporary aspectss in painting, and encouraging the Art Academy<br />
of Latvia students to take up painting and attempt to resolve intellectually and<br />
artistically challenging issues such as the role of painting, as well as its place in<br />
society, and its future development. This clearly shows that the role of painting<br />
is an important issue.<br />
Up until the late 19th century, painting and art were almost synonymous, and<br />
only in the 20th century, with the disappearance of the hierarchy of art media,<br />
painting became merely one art form among many others . In his essay ‘On<br />
Painting’ (1994), art critic Adrian Searle suggests not to focus on the “death” and<br />
“crisis” of painting, as if painting were a patient in need of a therapist. This<br />
raises a question how painting should be defined in the modern world. On the<br />
one hand, according to the art historian and critic Terry Smith, since the mid-20th<br />
century contemporary art has become homogeneous because of its focus on a<br />
widespread art infrastructure including markets, museums, critics, publicists all<br />
across the largest European and American art centers. On the other hand,<br />
contemporary art is now diverse in regard to the unlimited range of materials,<br />
vast possibilities, horizons and unpredictability that artists can offer to their<br />
viewers. This also demonstrates a wide range of interests that contemporary<br />
art encompasses. Artists can now work anywhere in the world, and their art is<br />
circulating everywhere, even in cyberspace. Possibly for the first time in history,<br />
contemporary art has actually become the ‘art of the world’ in terms of its<br />
geography and the diversity of expressions. And it is precisely this stylistic<br />
diversity that allows painting to reach a wider expressive area as well, even to a<br />
point of occasionally raising a question about its own limits. In her talk<br />
‘Tendencies of Latvian Contemporary Art’ („Tendences Latvijas laikmetīgajā<br />
mākslā“), the art scholar Ieva Astahovska argues that it is hard to find any specific<br />
characteristics or reliable indications of contemporaneity itself. Any attempts a<br />
to define contemporary art will show how uncertain, vague and dynamic this<br />
38<br />
territory actually is. Thus it is often more useful to characterise it through<br />
paradoxes and contradictions. However the search for more universal criteria is<br />
still ongoing.<br />
Given the absence of consensus on the specific features of contemporary art<br />
and for painting in particular, I will use three young artists — Amanda Ziemele,<br />
Elza Sīle and Elīna Vītola 2 — as my reference points to describe the tendencies<br />
in Latvian painting. 3They all use the medium of painting not only as an object<br />
of study, but also as way of thinking. All three of them share a ceaseless urge to<br />
study not only the objects of their paintings themselves, but also the very<br />
relationship between painting and life. In the context of the Tate Modern, their<br />
works would best fit in the ‘Expanded Painting’ display along with Pinot Gallizio,<br />
Niki de Saint Phalle, Richard Smith and others—this is the new interpretation of<br />
painting thatthat has been used for some time now, (see Mark Titmarsh’s book<br />
Expanded Painting: Ontological Aesthetics and the Essence of Colour (2017)). But<br />
I would like to regard it as a logical development of painting since the mid-20th<br />
century.<br />
What is really important about those three young Latvian painters is that they<br />
are all very sophisticated and well read. For example, in her work, Amanda<br />
Ziemele speaks about forgetting and claims that our minds are like sponges.<br />
Furthermore, our earliest ancestors were probably sponge-like themselves. At<br />
least once a week we experience this sensation of having something ‘at the tip<br />
of our tongues’: “Suppose we try to recall a forgotten name. The state of our<br />
consciousness is peculiar. There is a gap therein; but no mere gap. It is a gap that<br />
is intensely active. A sort of wraith of the name is in it, beckoning us in a given<br />
direction, making us at moments tingle with the sense of our closeness and then<br />
letting us sink back without the longed-for term. If wrong names are proposed<br />
to us, this singularly definite gap acts immediately so as to negate them. They do<br />
not fit into its mould. And the gap of one word does not feel like the gap of<br />
another, all empty of content as both might seem necessarily to be when<br />
described as gaps.” (William James, The Principles of Psychology (1893), p. 251)<br />
In life there are no gaps, everything is part of a continuously flowing<br />
conversation.<br />
1<br />
There is a three year gap between the ‘Candy Bomber’ and ‘City Children’, however the selected artists are<br />
mostly the same. The ‘City Children’ and ‘Tension’ are separated by 6 years. There are two constantly<br />
recurring names among the many new ones that keep appearing every year. This might indicate that an<br />
exhibition format shift from ‘young painters’ to ‘young artists’ is needed.<br />
2 All three artists have a bachelor’s degree in Painting and Elīna Vītola has a master’s degree from Art<br />
Academy of Latvia. Amanda Ziemele, as a DAAD post-graduate scholarship holder, has studied<br />
Interdisciplinary and experimental painting under professor Christian Sery at the Dresden Academy of<br />
Fine Arts. Elza Sīle studies at the Zurich University of the Arts since 2016.
The young painter Ziemele depicts this very familiar feeling of having suddenly<br />
forgotten such a generally known thing as, for example, the author of ‘The Last<br />
Supper.’ In her exhibition at the Stockholm gallery ‘Candyland,’ large format<br />
abstract paintings depict strange, unordered maps of thought-waves (I supposed<br />
to say this about an abstract painting?). Ceramic tongues Scattered on the floor<br />
are a yet another reminder that ‘this thing is not on the tip of your tongue.’ The<br />
ideas that Ziemele developed in her in-depth research are presented with an<br />
unobtrusive and subtle humor.<br />
The ability to laugh — mostly at one’s own expense — is also present in the work<br />
of the painter Elīna Vītola. For the last 28 years she’s been hoping to become an<br />
artist. She used various strategies in order to achieve that. Her latest attempt<br />
was an exhibition at the Kogo Gallery in Tartu titled ‘Common Issues in Painting<br />
and Everyday Life – Crapstraction’ 3 . In it Vītola examined the ways of becoming<br />
a renowned ‘crapstractionist.’ It is important to admit that her success depends<br />
only on us — curators, gallerists, collectors, wall decorators and critics —<br />
because the artist herself has barely any leverage in this hierarchy. And it’s<br />
unlikely that Vītola is going to pick her laurels any time soon. The thing is that<br />
Elīna was born in Eastern Europe, and, although the UN has recognised all three<br />
Baltic states as part of Northern Europe, this fact will probably not help the artist<br />
in her career.<br />
40<br />
The only survivors in the complicated art market hierarchy are those who are<br />
discovered or remembered by curators. A mere glance at Vītola’s paintings might<br />
be enough to understand what we are dealing with. In order to see the image,<br />
we have to use our ‘magic eye.’ 4 in order to5 If we are lucky, a deer, a fairy, or the<br />
Lion King will appear in front of us. It might also be an upholstery pattern from a<br />
grandmother’s armchair. Or maybe you will get extremely lucky and see the artist<br />
herself, who will then tell you that, for the first time in her life, she has<br />
created a new pattern that incorporates all the previous patterns she did not<br />
invent herself. You might as well come to a conclusion that trying to find<br />
recognisable images in an abstraction is a common everyday task. Vītola has<br />
published her manifesto which I am not going to reveal to you here, as it<br />
available on her Instagram profile. It is significant that the artist reproduced her<br />
manifesto on two of her works: a painted sofa, and on an incredibly long canvas<br />
roll of which only a very tiny part is visible.<br />
In Elza Sīle’s exhibition æA Decent Little Hike on Roads Rural and Dangerous,<br />
Plus Ugly’ at the Alma Gallery one can find many things except for paintings in<br />
a classical (conservative?) sense. “I used classic painting materials: graphite, oil,<br />
and acrylic. My works — or rather my compositions — are something between a<br />
painting, a board game, and a miniature stage; they look like landscapes created<br />
with traditional painting materials and in keeping with the classical<br />
conventions,” the artist said in an interview. Despite the use of conventional<br />
materials, her approach is definitely unconventional. She utilises the painting<br />
materials as construction elements to build houses and towns, playgrounds and<br />
parks, toilets and what not. The exhibition showcased adhesive prints depicting<br />
tattoos with the reproductions of the paintings displayed in the same room, only<br />
depicted on a human body; plates with maps of imaginary places; and artist’s<br />
poetry. She places some of her works in parallel to the ground (no one said that<br />
paintings must always be placed vertically against the wall). Here are some of<br />
her poignant insights on the conventional understandings about painting (what<br />
does it even mean—creating ‘pure’ or ‘impure’ hues; or constructing a painting<br />
that is ‘too big’ or ‘too small’?):<br />
3<br />
Crapstraction – an art term related to “Zombie Formalism” coined by art critic Walter Robinson, is basically<br />
a mechanism for collectors to make loads of money. The scheme is simple: find an emerging<br />
artist-abstractionist, buy his/her work ass-cheaply, groom the artist’s name, put the work on auction and<br />
get a big buck. And now many of them, unrecognizable from each other, smoothed out and fused together,<br />
groomed and smudged, decorate the walls of the wealthy. Oh, how lovely are those decorations that do<br />
not disturb my tranquil life!<br />
4 Remember the children’s game in which, as described in spoki.tvnet.lv, one has to choose a point in a<br />
picture (it is best to start somewhere in the middle) and allow yourself to see images through keeping your<br />
focus fixed on one spot it? No need to strain your eyes and stare, simply look ‘through’ the image. It is ok<br />
to lose focus at first. Don’t give up, keep looking. After you’ve seen your first image, others will arrive with<br />
less effort.
“‘construction of an image’”<br />
“‘to construct a meaning’”<br />
“‘to build a painting’”<br />
what what<br />
Brushstrokes literary hold the<br />
image<br />
if. then<br />
scale and conventions<br />
how<br />
standardize building materials<br />
on<br />
semantic plan<br />
or<br />
grid of the drawing<br />
trough and to<br />
exaggerated givens<br />
I happened to have been chosen to curate the next exhibition by the young<br />
painters. I respect the interconnectedness of media in contemporary art, and,<br />
keeping in mind the similarity between the topics in group exhibitions (be it<br />
animals, folklore or future prediction), I chose to use the expression ‘young artist’<br />
in the exhibition title, thus refusing to restrict them to the artificial disciplinary<br />
frameworks. As for the three aforementioned artists, I wish them luck (even<br />
knowing that sometimes luck can turn out to be ill luck). In any case, they will<br />
participate in the aforementioned exhibition of young artists not merely because<br />
they are painters.
1st Amanda Ziemele - ’’Being like a sponge’’. 2018
2nd Elīna Vītola - ”Common issues in painting and everyday life: crapstraction”<br />
Photographer: Diāna Tamane. 2018
3rd one is from Elza Sīle - ”A decent little hike on roads rural and dangerous, plus ugly”<br />
Photographer: Aksels Bruks. 2018
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X<br />
2009
Young<br />
Painter<br />
Prize<br />
2009<br />
<strong>YPP</strong>’09<br />
Andrius<br />
Zakarauskas<br />
PRIZE WINNER
Interview<br />
54<br />
• Why painting? (How did you discover this medium and why have you chosen it?)<br />
I first became attracted to painting in the art school, while still in my<br />
adolescence. I felt strongly about choosing the artist’s career and had no doubts<br />
about doing something else. I was ten when my mother brought me to the<br />
Marinaitis Art School, and I remained faithful to it ever since. My teachers were<br />
the painters I trusted and admired. They also encouraged me to take up painting.<br />
• What inspires you? (Individuals, contexts, etc.)<br />
My inspiration does not depend on particular individuals that much. I always<br />
follow and analyse the events both in the sphere of painting, and in the art world<br />
in general. I am trying to approach classical themes in a contemporary light. For<br />
example, currently I am very interested in religious art, and I am trying to<br />
personalise popular Biblical scenes and even turn them into something prosaic.<br />
My objects of admiration vary with each stage of life. As a schoolboy, I admired<br />
my art teachers (L. Drazdauskaitė, A Vilpišauskas), while during my high school<br />
years my favourites were A. Šaltenis and J. Gasiūnas.<br />
• What can you tell us about your creative process? Where does your artwork start<br />
and where does it end?<br />
My creative process starts in my mind with a daily practice of playing around<br />
with the mental images. After settling on the mental imagery, I start looking for<br />
the matching visual forms by sketching, taking pictures, drawing. I always have<br />
this preparatory and very personal dance around the canvas before committing<br />
to the painting process itself. Apart from witnessing the emergence of an image, I<br />
am always searching for the new creative possibilities that arise during the<br />
process of painting. Sometimes I’m annoyed when my mind forms images<br />
quicker than they are shaped by my brush. The real images sometimes fall short<br />
of their mental originals. Sometimes the result might be very far from what I was<br />
expecting. I finish painting only when I feel satisfied with the result. When the<br />
work is done, I invite a photographer to take a picture of the painting — to me,<br />
this signifies the completion of the process.<br />
• Have you ever seriously doubted your choice to become an artist? (If so, what<br />
stopped/reassured you?)<br />
I never had any doubts regarding the path I chose. Even during the hard times I<br />
knew that painting was my way of thinking and living.<br />
• Creative motifs. (What drives your creative practice? What are the topics you are<br />
working on?)<br />
My main topic is the creation of a painting as such, starting with the main<br />
element — a brush stroke — and all the way to the complex figurative<br />
compositions. I was always interested in the viewer’s role in painting —<br />
the viewer is an ever-present witness of both the artwork and a painter herself.<br />
My whole creative path is marked by the presence of this trinity.<br />
By the time I received a Young Painter Prize award in 2009, I was still searching<br />
for my own unique style. My brushstrokes were wider and thinner, stretching<br />
across an around the perimeter of a canvas.<br />
Today I am bringing painting along with me as I go down the path of Christ’s<br />
Church. I am now interested in the classical Biblical motives. I am trying to see<br />
them through the contexts of everydayness, thus expressing them as almost<br />
mundane. My aim is to create a unique spatial experience by assembling<br />
characters that come from various spaces and are lit differently.<br />
• Do you find the Baltic art scene interesting? (What is your opinion about<br />
Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian art? How would you describe their differences?)<br />
I am interested in everything that is happening in the Baltic region. I am<br />
keeping in touch with both Latvian and Estonian artists, however I personally<br />
prefer Estonian art better. I admire artists such as Kaido Ole, Marko Maetam, and<br />
Merike Estna. However I avoid making judgements about art based on the<br />
criterion of regionality, I rather use my personal aesthetic preferences.<br />
• How did the Young Painter Award influence your artist’s career?<br />
I was awarded in 2009, when I was still a student in the Vilnius Academy of Arts.<br />
To me it felt like a tremendously important recognition of what I do. It served<br />
as a great impetus to keep up with the work of painting. I think these kinds of<br />
acknowledgements are very important to artists, especially at the beginning of<br />
their careers. I am sure young painters are appreciating the growing importance<br />
of this Award. I think it has greatly contributed to my self-confidence as an artist.
Horizontalūs potepiai. 190x180cm, oil on canvas, 2009
60<br />
JURY:<br />
2009<br />
Dr. Lolita Jablonskienė<br />
/ Head of the National Gallery of Art<br />
Evaldas Stankevičius<br />
/ CAC Deputy Director / Curator<br />
Virginijus Kinčinaitis<br />
/ Art Critic<br />
Prof. Arvydas Šaltenis<br />
/ Vilnius Academy of Art / Vice-Rector for Science and Art / Painter<br />
Vilmantas Marcinkevičius<br />
/ Lithuanian Artists’ Association’ Chairman of Painting Section / Painter<br />
Gintaras Makarevičius<br />
/ Painter / Video Artist / Scenographer<br />
Dalia Kasčiūnaitė<br />
/ Painter / National Award Winner<br />
Doc. Bronius Gražys<br />
/ Painter<br />
Doc. Jonas Gasiūnas<br />
/ Painter<br />
Milda Žvirblytė<br />
/ ArtCritic / Curator<br />
PATRONS:<br />
Mindaugas Raila, Nicolas Ortiz family<br />
PRIZES:<br />
The Main Prize: 7000 LTL + Solo exhibition<br />
Second Prize: 4000 LTL<br />
The Thirds prize: 2000 LTL<br />
Additional Prize: Pieštukai. Popieriukai<br />
SPONSORS:<br />
15min, artnews, Lithuanian artists association<br />
SPACE:<br />
Pamėnkalnio Gallery
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X<br />
2010
Young<br />
Painter<br />
Prize<br />
64<br />
2010<br />
<strong>YPP</strong>’10<br />
Jolanta<br />
Kyzikaitė<br />
PRIZE WINNER
Interview<br />
66<br />
• Why painting? (How did you discover this medium and why have you chosen it?)<br />
It all started when I was eight or nine. I was in the primary school at the time.<br />
I had a pet wavy parrot that had a nice salad green plumage. I loved that bird.<br />
I was feeding it, changing the paper flooring, cleaning the cage, and gathering<br />
the scattered mash. It was a messy eater and it kept changing its plumage. It was<br />
interesting to see how those white spikes gradually turned into brand new<br />
feathers while their shells dissipated into dust. I had to keep cleaning this daily<br />
mess, otherwise my mum would give me hard time. No one in the family loved<br />
that bird — my mum did not like it because of its messiness, while my dad and<br />
my brother hated the noise. But I liked it — I used to scratch its head, I liked it<br />
landing on my shoulder, I even tolerated the droppings. I actually loved this<br />
creature.<br />
I cried when I found it glassy-eyed and motionless lying at the bottom of the<br />
cage. I think that was also the moment when I started my path as an artist.<br />
My dad wrapped the parrot in a plastic bag and put it in a freezer together with<br />
the frozen food: meat, berries, dumplings, etc. I never thought about death<br />
before that, and this gesture seemed natural. Perhaps I was hoping that it will<br />
come back to life once I take it out and thaw it. Come to think of it now, my weird<br />
logic was probably influenced by some fantastic story about the resurrection of<br />
primates or dinosaurs.<br />
But the miracle did happen and the parrot did come back to life! My parents took<br />
it to a taxidermist and it gave the stuffed animal to me as a present. I held in my<br />
hands a bird with wide-spread wings, and it seemed it will come alive and take<br />
off from the branch it was sitting on. But it didn’t. Instead of cheering me up,<br />
it made me sad and even angry. I kept noticing the discrepancies between the<br />
stuffed animal and the parrot I remembered when it was alive. Its eyeballs were<br />
a pair of plastic pills, and I could see the wire sticking out of its wings and legs.<br />
Eventually I got tired of just looking at this dead body and decided to<br />
immortalise my departed friend by drawing it instead — the parrot was now a<br />
perfectly frozen model.<br />
I took dad’s pastels without permission. He used to carefully guard them because<br />
in those days quality art supplies were hard to get, so I was banned from using<br />
his pastels and watercolours. “This stuff is not for kids,” my dad used to say. But I<br />
was drawn to these nicely wrapped bars of watercolours. Someone told me they<br />
were made of honey, so I was also anxious to taste them all — I was expecting<br />
different colours to have distinct flavours. Just like the sweets brought back from<br />
the other side of Atlantic: strawberry-flavoured reds, cherry-flavoured burgundy,<br />
and apple-flavoured greens. In order to hide the fact of unwrapping the<br />
watercolours, I took two wooden boxes with pastels instead. The tubes were<br />
nicely arranged. I worked in secret for two days, trying to capture every feather,<br />
every layering of their colours. I was very surprised by the result myself. The<br />
image turned out to be more real than the stuffed thing on my table.<br />
The question is: did I have to draw this parrot? I felt like I had to because it was<br />
the only way to surpass the taxidermic copy. My parents would have gotten upset<br />
had I simply thrown it out or hid it. I understood that they had put a lot of effort<br />
in finding a taxidermist and arranging this gift for me.<br />
So I placed the drawing on my desk and took the stuffed parrot to the living room<br />
and placed it in one of my parent’s cupboards behind the glass, together with all<br />
the other little nothings, arguing that the parrot now belongs here, among other<br />
significant objects of the family. This way I took it out of my sight and stopped<br />
being annoyed by it. Upon witnessing my drawing, my parents felt that the<br />
taxidermic process was worth it after all because it inspired my creative act. I was<br />
not punished for using my dad’s pastels. When he found them nice and tidy back<br />
in their boxes, my dad gave me the permission to use his art equipment. This was<br />
how I stopped being just a “kid” with playing around with “stuff.”<br />
My drawing was shown in the school exhibition and received some kind of an<br />
award. I then realised the power of image. Everybody were fascinated by the<br />
drawing because it was so realistic, and the parrot seemed so alive. However, I<br />
also regarded it as a certain tombstone, and its creation — a goodbye gesture. I<br />
thus created a paradox: while everyone were fascinated by the drawing, to me it<br />
emanated sadness. I think it was my first real work of art that wasn’t just ‘child’s<br />
play.’ I mutated and transposed myself into another level and realised that I now<br />
wanted to be an artist and think about the world around me.<br />
Perhaps, this story had too much detail, so my answers to other questions will be<br />
shorter.<br />
• What inspires you? (Individuals, contexts, etc.)<br />
It is difficult to say, but I am mostly inspired by the surrounding environments.<br />
Sometimes the creative process can be triggered by a single word or a certain<br />
configuration of circumstances. I am constantly on a lookout for these sources<br />
when I am sleeping, driving, or relaxing — it is now an occupational disease.<br />
There are plenty of themes for art, and one could only regret that there is not<br />
enough time for all of them. So I tend to choose those that merit a deeper<br />
analysis.
68<br />
• What can you tell us about your creative process? Where does your artwork start<br />
and where does it end?<br />
I only start painting when I know what I am trying to find out. I am not<br />
interested in painting just for the sake of it. A certain situation always comes first<br />
— for example, that of a taxidermic bird, or a that of a playful accident — which I<br />
then extrapolate through painting. Not all attempts are successful, but the<br />
excitement that comes with the research is the biggest payoff. I would even claim<br />
that I prioritise the subject — in this case, a play — over painting itself.<br />
• Have you ever seriously doubted your choice to become an artist? (If so, what<br />
stopped/reassured you?)<br />
Yes I had. After finishing my BA, I no longer had my studio (I now realise how<br />
important having a studio is) and gradually started working. It is not easy for<br />
painters to survive, having to rent both a flat and a studio can be really<br />
challenging for most of the artists. Then I also had to raise my own kids. I was<br />
hoping that working from home will allow me to find time for art, but it never<br />
happened. The wakeup call came when I was offered an office job. I suddenly<br />
realised that I will never be able to create if I start working from nine to five, so<br />
I refused this ‘promising’ job offer.<br />
Then things started changing rather quickly. Without a day job and with my kids<br />
in the kindergarten, I suddenly had more time. As soon as sporadic painting<br />
commissions started bringing me some income, I immediately rented a studio in<br />
Naujoji Vilnia. It was the autumn of 2009. It took me two months to set up a<br />
studio and get to work. Then my work was delayed further by the winter colds<br />
and my kids getting sick. It was only in 2010 when I started to paint seriously. In<br />
fact, I was awarded a second place in the <strong>YPP</strong> awards the very same year. So the<br />
skills can return in no time, all you need is an idea what you want to do.<br />
• Do you find the Baltic art scene interesting? (What is your opinion about<br />
Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian art? How would you describe their differences?)<br />
I did not know much about Latvian painting, I acquired an album only recently. I<br />
have stronger connection with Estonian artists because, during my studies,<br />
Vilnius Academy of Art had strong ties with the Tallinn Academy of Art.<br />
I had a chance to meet their art teachers and students, and we even organised a<br />
group exhibition ‘Notes on Painting’ in Vaal Gallery, Tallinn. During my MA<br />
studies I did an artist residency in Estonia. It was interesting to work there<br />
because Estonian painting was different from Lithuanian—it was clear, rational,<br />
even pedantic. I was fascinated by it because it was so different from VAA which<br />
worked more in the tradition of the Ars Group. Today we even have Lithuanian<br />
painters influenced by the ‘Estonian style’—for example, Jonas Jurcikas.<br />
• How did the Young Painter Award influence your artist’s career?<br />
It made a big difference. It happened right after I returned on the path of being<br />
a painter, and this Award was a great incentive to keep going and stay on track.<br />
I was noticed by the MO Museum, and they bought some of my works. I must<br />
admit that the monetary prize was important as well because it took care of my<br />
studio rent for the next four years. The residency in Vienna allowed me to see<br />
myself in a wider context, and I also had a chance to see a lot of contemporary<br />
and classical art.
Autoportretas ESSL muziejuje. 154x207cm, oil on canvas, 2010
74<br />
JURY:<br />
2010<br />
Dr. Lolita Jablonskienė<br />
/ Head of the National Gallery of Art<br />
Evaldas Stankevičius<br />
/ CAC Deputy Director / Curator<br />
Prof. Dr. Raminta Jurėnaitė<br />
/ Art Critic / Curator<br />
Laima Kreivytė<br />
/ Art Critic / Curator<br />
Vilmantas Marcinkevičius<br />
/ Lithuanian Artists’ Association’ Chairman of Painting Section / Painter<br />
Vygantas Paukštė<br />
/ Painter<br />
Viktoras Butkus<br />
/ Art Collector<br />
Algirdas Griškevičius<br />
/ Painter<br />
Rūta Katiliūtė<br />
/ Painter<br />
Aistė Paulina Virbickaitė<br />
/ Art Critic<br />
PATRONS:<br />
Mindaugas Raila, Nicolas Ortiz family, Dali van Roiij Rakutyte<br />
PRIZES:<br />
The Main Prize: 7000 LTL + three months’ residence in Laudon, Austria<br />
Second Prize: 4000 LTL<br />
The Thirds prize: 2000 LTL<br />
Public Prize: Delfi Prize<br />
SPONSORS:<br />
Lietuvos Respublikos Kultūros ministerija, Kultūros rėmimo fondas, Žydrūnas<br />
Raščius, BMUKK, Delfi, Artnews, Ado.lt Design<br />
SPACE:<br />
Contemporary art center, Lithuanian Artists’ Association’ Gallery
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X<br />
2011
Young<br />
Painter<br />
Prize<br />
78<br />
2011<br />
<strong>YPP</strong>’11<br />
Jonas<br />
Jurčikas<br />
PRIZE WINNER
Interview 80<br />
• Why painting? (How did you discover this medium and why have you chosen it?)<br />
I was always interested in this universal language. I started painting in the art<br />
school, and then carried on with my Painting studies at the Vilnius Academy of<br />
Arts. At first I did not feel that painting was for me. I realised this only later, and<br />
this understanding came to me gradually as I was learning about the real<br />
burden of art making, including all the responsibilities toward the craft,<br />
creativity, art, and culture. However, being a practicing painter, I don’t shy away<br />
from other forms of art.<br />
• What inspires you? (Individuals, contexts, etc.)<br />
Actually, I can’t pinpoint a specific source of inspiration because it might be<br />
anything: an overheard word, an artwork, a movie, nature, or world events. In<br />
other words, creativity is full of coincidences.<br />
• Creative motifs. (What drives your creative practice? What are the topics you are<br />
working on?)<br />
I’m mostly interested in the realness of the everyday and the limits of human<br />
cognition.<br />
I am using my personal approach while asking ontological questions such as:<br />
Why reality/everyday appears to be so strange, and what is it in itself? Why<br />
common sense is not coextensive with the objective reality? Why empirical<br />
generalisations are not a sufficient basis to believe in both collective and<br />
personal memories?<br />
The painting motifs usually arrive from both primary and secondary sources of<br />
realist imagery, but there can be other sources as well. Hyperbolised and turned<br />
into phantasmic images, memories and the elements of the everyday often<br />
intertwine with the seemingly unrelated historical and political events.<br />
I sometimes use them to address the question of painter’s vocation.<br />
• What can you tell us about your creative process? Where does your artwork start<br />
and where does it end?<br />
It is difficult to talk about the creative process because it is always somewhat<br />
unpredictable and it never stops. Sometimes it all starts with the mental imagery,<br />
and sometimes it can be an insight or an idea. I then try to write them down or<br />
express them through sketching, and only then I commit to painting, for which<br />
I usually use canvas. Sometimes, after long deliberations, I am forced to reject<br />
those ideas.<br />
The work is finished when all the compositional elements take up the clearly<br />
defined canvas space, but it is only a formal completion of a physical work. An<br />
artwork really ‘ends’ only when the imagery and the thoughts it inspired<br />
disappears from the mind of its last viewer.<br />
• Have you ever seriously doubted your choice to become an artist? (If so, what<br />
stopped/reassured you?)<br />
I was overcome with doubts multiple times because being an artist is not easy.<br />
The question of the necessary conditions of art practice is much bigger and much<br />
more important than it might seem. The lack of these conditions can greatly<br />
restrict creativity. However these doubts are usually neutralised by the feedback<br />
I get from the curious viewers. Indeed, without a viewer present, an artwork is<br />
nothing but an ordinary object. Both the result and the creative process are<br />
intrinsic parts of my being.<br />
• Do you find the Baltic art scene interesting? (What is your opinion about<br />
Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian art? How would you describe their differences?)<br />
I prefer not to differentiate art according to the regions it is coming from. I am<br />
interested in art as such rather than in its origins. However I am interested in the<br />
art field of the Baltic region because it is marked by a specific historical context.<br />
From our current perspective, I am excited about the Latvian, Estonian and<br />
Lithuanian art becoming more known in the international arena.<br />
• How did the Young Painter Prize influence your artist’s career?<br />
Of course, being awarded the Young Painter Prize brought some changes to my<br />
career. My artwork became more known and it attracted more people. Awards<br />
like this are a great incentive for young artists to keep going and stay creative,<br />
which is exactly what I am trying to do. I think that the Lithuanian art market is<br />
only in its formative stages because of certain political decisions or, perhaps,<br />
because of the absence of political interest in artists. I think that Lithuanian<br />
painting and art in general would only benefit from the events like <strong>YPP</strong>. They<br />
benefit artistic creativity, provide artists with the necessary support, and enliven<br />
the cultural life.
Beginning of the meeting. 290x400cm, acrylic on canvas, 2011
86<br />
JURY:<br />
2011<br />
Dr. Lolita Jablonskienė<br />
/ Head of the National Gallery of Art<br />
Kęsturis Kuizinas<br />
/ CAC Director / Curator<br />
Diana Barcevska<br />
/ Art Critic / Latvian National Museum of Art<br />
Eglė Rakauskaitė<br />
/ Interdisciplinary artist<br />
Kaido Ole<br />
/ Painter<br />
Linas Liandzbergis<br />
/ Painter / Curator<br />
Neringa Černiauskaitė<br />
/ Editor of Artnews / Art Critic<br />
Sophie Lauwers<br />
/ Deputy Exhibitions Directos of the Centre for Fine Arts BOZAR<br />
Solvita Krese<br />
/ Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art / Director<br />
Vilmantas Marcinkevičius<br />
/ Painter<br />
PATRONS:<br />
Mindaugas Raila, Nicolas Ortiz family, Dali van Roiij Rakutyte<br />
PRIZES:<br />
The Main Prize: 2500 eur + two months’ residence in Nida Art Colony, Lithuania<br />
Special Prize: three months’ residence in Laudon, Austria (the winner of the prize<br />
was selected by BMUKK)<br />
Second Prize: 500 eur<br />
The Thirds prize: 1000 LTL for shopping in a store of artists’ resources “Dailu”<br />
Public Prize: Delfi Prize<br />
SPONSORS:<br />
BMUKK, Nidos meno kolonija, Dailu, Delfi, Kultūros rėmimo fondas, Vitafarma,<br />
Shakespeare hotel<br />
SPACE:<br />
Titanikas Gallery
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X<br />
2012
Young<br />
Painter<br />
Prize<br />
90<br />
2012<br />
<strong>YPP</strong>’12<br />
Martynas<br />
Petreikis<br />
PRIZE WINNER
Interview 92<br />
• Why painting? (How did you discover this medium and why have you chosen it?)<br />
My first real encounter with painting happened when I was a fifth-grader. In an<br />
extra-curricular art group a teacher gave me two cans of gouache, white carton<br />
paper and a flat spatula. The colours were black and white. There was a simple<br />
still life on the table in front of me: a pumpkin on a green tablecloth. My task was<br />
to create the impression of tonal depth, render the surfaces and create an<br />
interplay of textures by using only two chromatic colours. I was overcome with<br />
excitement as I was dipping a spatula into the paint and feeling its thickness and<br />
then putting the paint on the surface of paper. I realised then that paste paint is<br />
the kind of matter I intuitively understand and am inspired by. During the art<br />
lessons I was anxious to get right to taking my gouache paint, palette and<br />
brushes so I could enjoy seeing over and over again the thick layer of paint<br />
sticking to the surface of paper and doing its magic. During my BA studies, when<br />
I had a chance to learn about all fields of art as well as its forms and techniques, I<br />
realised that pastose painting was the technique that I feel the most comfortable<br />
with while expressing my emotions and ideas. It then became part of my creative<br />
identity.<br />
• What inspires you? (Individuals, contexts, etc.)<br />
I have got no special rituals that I need to rely on in order to create. I am the<br />
kind of artist who can become inspired on the spot. It can happen even in the<br />
most unexpected places: while having dinner with my friends, in the gym, in the<br />
swimming pool or when having a shower. I can get inspired by a certain smell in<br />
the kitchen, the weather, the sight of passers-by, or the shapes of shadows. I like<br />
travelling, and seeing new places, cultures and nature only adds to my creativity.<br />
• Creative motifs. (What drives your creative practice? What are the topics you are<br />
working on?)<br />
Around 2012–2013, right after graduating from the MA in Painting, I was<br />
mainly interested in working on a portrait of a young man who is trying to<br />
survive in the postmodern society. This motif has been with me as I was making<br />
my first steps in my career. My pedagogic studies have greatly influenced my<br />
capacity to analyse this theme. Among all the art disciplines we had to learn as<br />
part of our professional curriculum, we also had a wide range of other subjects<br />
such as philosophy, psychology, social psychology and hodegetics. The<br />
formation of my creative motif was greatly influenced by my studies, especially<br />
social sciences and philosophy.<br />
Why am I interested in portraying a young man? I hear this question often. Why<br />
not an old man? I considered youth as being more vulnerable, and I was drawing<br />
on my own self-analysis. How do I see myself in this society, and how does is it<br />
making me feel? What do my friends think about these questions, and what are<br />
their experiences? The existential problematics of a young man was particularly<br />
interesting to me. I remember doubting a lot regarding my chosen path. I feared<br />
I was going too deep with this, and that the problems I was working on were not<br />
relevant and understandable. I feared being ridiculed. I was even considering<br />
choosing a topic that was more accessible and popular. After all, everyone is<br />
chasing fashionable things and aiming to get to the top of popularity. Perhaps I<br />
was supposed to follow the opinions of art critics and copy what was exhibited<br />
in the contemporary art galleries, because art is business — you have to paint<br />
things that other would want to buy. However I decided not to go down this path.<br />
I like taking risks and I do only what I am truly interested in and what I find relevant.<br />
After receiving the <strong>YPP</strong> Award I realised that I have to keep doing what is<br />
important to me, and not the kind of art that my teachers, my parents, art critics<br />
or gallerists prefer. One should not be afraid of this attitude. There will always<br />
be people who will understand and help you. When I started living in emigration,<br />
Lithuania-related motifs started receding. When the environment, culture,<br />
lifestyle, and social context changed, I began working on smaller and more<br />
manageable projects.<br />
• What can you tell us about your creative process? Where does your artwork start<br />
and where does it end?<br />
Naturally, everything starts in with contemplating an idea, a motive, an object, a<br />
form, tonal depth and composition, and then, after the visualisations and<br />
sketches are made, I commit to painting. The painting is often influenced by the<br />
scale, and I have to change both composition and tonal arrangement. Colours and<br />
compositional elements have various impacts depending on the size of a canvas.<br />
I am paying a lot of attention to my palette. I think even the grayest of minds can<br />
produce a wide variety of tones. Which is why, I think, it is very important to<br />
carefully arrange a palette before I start. It takes time to create an artwork, and I<br />
let them appear gradually. I use the multiple layering technique, which means I<br />
have to work in stages. I see the whole process as a creation of the series of<br />
layers. It is important to understand how layering will influence the opaqueness<br />
and the distribution of tones and shades, how will they look in a month or even<br />
in a year, and what chemical processes might start taking place. When I put thin<br />
layers of paint on top of each other, I imagine that I am using the layers of<br />
coloured glass — the overlaying colours are able to create subtle tonal effects<br />
and depths. I often leave a half-finished painting hanging on the wall. I like<br />
seeing them greeting me as I walk into the studio. I can spend hours<br />
contemplating them and thinking about various tonal combinations. The creation<br />
of a single painting can last up to several months. Finalising is usually difficult<br />
because it always seems that there’s something else I can add. Thus it is<br />
important to learn how to stop.
94<br />
• Have you ever seriously doubted your choice to become an artist? (If so, what<br />
stopped/reassured you?)<br />
I never had any doubts. I always knew what I wanted to do and what my passion<br />
was. However there might be some periods in life when this passion is weakened<br />
by certain circumstances. However I know that my passion of painting will always<br />
be with me.<br />
I had some doubts about my career right after I received the <strong>YPP</strong> Award. Maybe<br />
it will sound strange. I had to encounter a lot of attention from the viewers and<br />
journalists. My works became objects of all kinds of feedback. Some were<br />
admiring and supporting me, while others, maybe out of jealousy, were<br />
dismissive and disparaging. I actually never understood that — how can someone<br />
have so much negativity in their critical texts? It seems that their point of view<br />
presupposes a very depressing view of the world as such. I am rather saddened<br />
by these people, and it is a shame that they get to shape the art of the future.<br />
• Do you find the Baltic art scene interesting? (What is your opinion about<br />
Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian art? How would you describe their differences?)<br />
I am not an art critic nor a theorist. I am unable to follow the development of the<br />
art scene in all the three countries — I have no time for this, and I think that<br />
contextual analysis requires a rather complicated academic research. But I think<br />
that painting is not yet dead in the Baltic region. We still have those classical<br />
painting schools that teach students how to work with a palette, how to feel the<br />
brush, and retain the painter’s spine. However I think that this classical<br />
foundation is now crumbling, particularly in the West European art. Everything<br />
is now regarded through the notions of media, performance, and temporality.<br />
Meanwhile the Baltic region is still ripe with canvases, techniques, colours and<br />
modern painters who are enriching the tradition of painting. The international<br />
collaboration during the biennials and triennials is bringing good results. I think<br />
that the Baltic region as a unit retains its uniqueness, style, and character in the<br />
context of the European art field.<br />
• How did the Young Painter Prize influence your artist’s career?<br />
The <strong>YPP</strong> Award not only made an impact on my career, but it also changed my<br />
life. This is a process that has to be experienced by every up-and-coming artist<br />
who is serious about her career. This initiative gives a young artist a great<br />
opportunity to learn and make a good start. Universities and academies are good<br />
at providing the theoretical basis, but the practical sides of creative life can be<br />
very different from what we expect. The very decision to take part in this project<br />
is a brave step already — a painter has to collect her works and introduce<br />
herself to the board of professionals. It is a special feeling to see your own works<br />
in a huge space together with the works of other young artists. This experience<br />
teaches you a lot of valuable lessons. The <strong>YPP</strong> helped me to understand what I<br />
really want from life, what direction I want to take, and how visible I want to be.
The Face. 180x145cm, oil on canvas, 2012
86<br />
JURY:<br />
2012<br />
Johannes Saar<br />
/ Centre for Contemporary Arts / Director<br />
Hafthor Yngvason<br />
/ Head of the Reykjavik Art Museum<br />
Teresa Ostergaard Pedersen<br />
/ Curator / Museum Jorn<br />
Jolanta Marcišauskytė Jurašienė<br />
/ Art Critic / Modern Art Center<br />
Thorkild NB Nielsen<br />
/ NB Gallery / Director<br />
Julija Dailidėnaitė<br />
/ Art Critic<br />
Ivonna Veiherte<br />
/ Gallerist / Gallery 21<br />
Dovilė Tumpytė<br />
/ Curator / National Gallery of Art<br />
Žygimantas Augustinas<br />
/ Artist<br />
Vita Zaman<br />
/ Co-director of the Vienna Contemporary Art Fair Viennafair<br />
PATRONS:<br />
Mindaugas Raila, Nicolas Ortiz family, Dali van Roiij Rakutyte, Modernaus meno<br />
centras<br />
PRIZES:<br />
The Main Prize: 2500 eur + two months’ residence in SIM, Iceland<br />
Second Prize: 500 eur<br />
The Thirds prize: 1000 LTL for shopping in a store of artists’ resources “Dailu”<br />
Public Prize: Delfi Prize<br />
SPONSORS:<br />
The Bajorunas / Sarnoff Foundation, Dailu, Delfi, Kultūros rėmimo fondas,<br />
Shakespeare hotel, Vilniaus miesto savivaldybė, infashion.lt, artnews,<br />
echogonewrong<br />
SPACE:<br />
Titanikas Gallery
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X<br />
2013
Young<br />
Painter<br />
Prize<br />
104<br />
2013<br />
<strong>YPP</strong>’13<br />
Zane<br />
Tuča<br />
PRIZE WINNER
Interview 106<br />
• Painting? Why? Was there a pivotal moment when you decided to follow your<br />
path as an artist? (how did this media appear on your creative road, why is it?)<br />
I have to admit that there haven’t been one particular moment in my life when<br />
I would realize that I want to be an artist. Somehow I just have followed to my<br />
need to do something that I have considered as the best way of expressing<br />
myself since my childhood. When I was 15 years old I decided to attend Janis<br />
Rozentals Riga Art High School and that has been a beginning of my path as an<br />
artist. I continued studying in a department of painting at the Art Academy of<br />
Latvia. During first years at Academy I gradually realized that painting has really<br />
important meaning in my life and I got an understanding that I’ll always keep<br />
doing it even if it wouldn’t be my profession in the future. During studies I have<br />
tried to work in other medias but I always have felt more precise in a painting. I<br />
have this inner feeling that I even think in a painting. All the time I am<br />
observing visual reality and considering how to translate it in a visual work that<br />
carries specific ideas which are actual for me on the each certain moment.<br />
Painting is a language which I am using to solve my most significant<br />
contemplations about being. I believe that it is a strong inner need to do it.<br />
• Who inspires you? What is your greatest indulgence in life? (personality, context,<br />
etc.)<br />
I am inspired by all the culture and artefacts which have been created in history<br />
until today. Even if concrete art movement is not particularly influential<br />
personally for me I appreciate it as an important part of a whole which has<br />
created situation in art scene as it is now. It is important for me because I am<br />
awaring that it makes a context in which I am living and working and as an artist<br />
one cannot ignore it. I always have been very inspired by literature. I admire how<br />
written word can build one’s visual imagery in your mind. I believe that process<br />
of making painting is something related to this. In a result of observations,<br />
experience and thoughts you build a certain image in your mind. Only here the<br />
process continues by bringing the image from your mind back to material and<br />
visual form which you can share with other people.<br />
• Main motive. (Who are your most interested in your work? What topics do you<br />
consider in your work)<br />
My paintings usually depict deformations of pure landscapes. These images are<br />
captured in reflecting surfaces which are typical in modern environment -<br />
different layers of landscape and urban environment are overlapping there (a lot<br />
of layers in material aspect as well). My main interest is an attempt to thematize<br />
idea about space which is created by painting and where temporary becomes<br />
timeless – a different space outside of the usual time. Images of my paintings<br />
are made from several pictures of the same object which overlap themselves for<br />
several times. There is a small shifting between those layers. I try to amalgamate<br />
them into one layer by using minutely drawing and painting. I relate usage of<br />
this image and technique as an attempt to visualize a place where different times<br />
come together in one timeless point.<br />
• Can you tell us about the process of making your work? From what does it begin<br />
and when does your artwork “end”?<br />
Process of making my work definitely starts in my mind. I believe that all my life<br />
is the process of making my work. Newest works are developing from the former<br />
ones. I continue to follow the main idea and path which flows through the all my<br />
oeuvre. All the time I keep looking for the images what could serve as a best and<br />
most precise carriers for the ideas and questions which I would like to actualize.<br />
When I decide that concrete image (photo or photo collage) is suitable for my<br />
intention I start to work in material form. I decide the size of the intended work<br />
which also has an important part of that how painting will affect on the observer.<br />
The process of the physical making of my work is very long. It can take months<br />
of intense every day working. I start with a background which I paint with acrylic<br />
paints. Afterwards follows the laborious part – covering the surface with very<br />
detailed graphite drawing using the pencil. As before physical realization of the<br />
painting I have very precise idea how it must look finished there is not a lot of<br />
space for improvisation left and it makes easier to decide and follow the criteria<br />
which indicates that the specific piece has been finished.<br />
• Do you have moments in your life when you have been keen on the chosen artist’s<br />
path? Have you ever had a moment when you questioned your career entirely? (if<br />
so, who then returned you? Stopped?)<br />
I have had a lot of moments when I have felt very confused and even despair<br />
about choosing artist’s path. Those moments repeat occasionally and I have<br />
admitted that at least in my case it is and always will be a part of a process. As far<br />
my inner need to paint has turn out stronger than desperation. It shows up us a<br />
sign of a weakness but I believe that it has important role in the context of one’s<br />
development. Those moments come with questions and doubts. It requires to<br />
rebuild and strengthen your confidence and reasons why do you keep going this<br />
path.
108<br />
• Are you interested in the art field of the Baltic region? (write your opinion on the<br />
context of the Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian artistic field: differences,<br />
similarities, advantages, aspirations, etc.)<br />
Unfortunately my knowledge about processes in Lithuanian and Estonian artistic<br />
field is not so good to make any comparisons. Of course I know some Lithuanian<br />
and Estonian artists and have travelled both to Vilnius and Tallinn to see<br />
exhibitions in museums and galleries. I would rather say that I can see<br />
similarities in Baltic region’s art field which differs it from Western Europe and<br />
have been influenced by our quite similar history.<br />
• Is the winning in the “Young Painter Prize” competition somehow influenced by<br />
changes in your artistic career?<br />
The winning of Young Painter Prize has very significant meaning in my life and<br />
artistic career. I appreciate it as a very good and valuable idea that <strong>YPP</strong> gives you<br />
a chance to take part in some artists’ residency in Europe as a prize. I got a wonderful<br />
opportunity to stay for 2 months in the most admirable artist<br />
residency – Nordic Artists’ Centre Dale in Norway. The residency program is<br />
available for artists who already have finished their studies and I even felt a<br />
little bit worried to go there as a student from the Art Academy. I perceived it as<br />
a huge responsibility. I can say that it has been very important and productive<br />
period in my professional life. Time which i spent in the residency got a lot of<br />
extra value. One gets not only much more time for physical execution of ideas<br />
but also a lot of time to over think and questioning your practice. That is<br />
invaluable possibility when you don’t have to bother about your daily and are<br />
able completely to focus on your thinking and working. As highly important I<br />
appreciated opportunity to meet and work alongside other artists from different<br />
countries and backgrounds. I think it is one of the best ways how to get known<br />
with other countries art, cultural, social, political situation. I was there together<br />
with artists from Norway, Sweden, Italy, Mexico, USA and Germany.<br />
Communication between us definetely broadened my insight of art field’s<br />
processes on these countries. I felt very encouraged when I experienced that my<br />
work could be interesting for other artists and people from art field outside<br />
Latvia. That meant really a lot for me. Also the time I spent in the residency<br />
features the time when I developed the technique which I still continue to use<br />
(pencil drawing on the colored acrylic background). 3 years later when I already<br />
had finished my studying I applied for the same residency. I got an opportunity<br />
to stay there for 4 months on 2017. And again it became a very significant period<br />
in my life. Paintings what I made there were exhibited earlier this year (2018)<br />
on my solo show ”…But one can never get quiet enough…” at Alma Gallery, Riga,<br />
Latvia. So I can say that winning of <strong>YPP</strong> 5 years ago still impacts my professional<br />
life and I am still very grateful.
Stillness. 215x245cm, oil on wood, 2013
114<br />
JURY:<br />
2013<br />
Arild H. Eriksen<br />
/ Nordic Artists’ Centre Dale / Director<br />
Dr. Lolita Jablonskienė<br />
/ Head of the National Gallery of Art<br />
Kęsturis Kuizinas<br />
/ CAC Director / Curator<br />
Petri Hytonen<br />
/ Artist<br />
Sabine Vess<br />
/ Artist<br />
Zane Oncule<br />
/ Curator and Program Director / Contemporary Art Center kim?<br />
Rūta Frankė<br />
/ Art Critic / The European Investment Bank’s art program consultant<br />
Sirje Helme<br />
/ The Art Museum of Estonia / Director General<br />
Patricija Jurkšaitytė<br />
/ Artist<br />
Juan de Nieves<br />
/ Director of Rupert<br />
PATRONS:<br />
Mindaugas Raila, Nicolas Ortiz family, Dali van Roiij Rakutyte,<br />
Modernaus meno centras, Orlen Lietuva, Lewben Art Foundation<br />
PRIZES:<br />
The Main Prize: 2500 eur + two months’ residence in Nordic Artists’ Centre Dale,<br />
Norway, with a monthly grant of nok 8000,-<br />
Public Prize: Delfi Prize<br />
SPONSORS:<br />
The Bajorunas / Sarnoff Foundation, Delfi, Kultūros rėmimo fondas, artnews,<br />
echogonewrong, Clear channel<br />
SPACE:<br />
Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X<br />
2014
Young<br />
Painter<br />
Prize<br />
118<br />
2014<br />
<strong>YPP</strong>’14<br />
Eglė<br />
Butkutė<br />
PRIZE WINNER
Interview 120<br />
• Why painting? (How did you discover this medium and why have you chosen it?)<br />
I always loved drawing and painting. I went to several art schools, which I really<br />
enjoyed. I was also interested in theatre, scenography, and fashion design.<br />
People kept saying that it was very difficult to get into Vilnius Academy of Arts,<br />
but I braved myself and got in. It was a rather spontaneous decision. I now feel<br />
that I am in the right place. Painting has always been giving me a chance to<br />
understand and realise myself better, and to observe and analyse the world<br />
more deeply.<br />
• What inspires you? (Individuals, contexts, etc.)<br />
I use tracks, scores, and rows to signify alienation, normativity, and loneliness.<br />
Finding interesting sports-related stencils or numbers always inspires me to<br />
think of the new motifs and and ideas. I also find the soviet legacy to be<br />
important for my art. The sight of certain walls, wallpapers and sports inventory<br />
can bring back memories and evoke a strange nostalgia. I am emotionally<br />
attached to all these steamy sports halls with their green walls and brown<br />
benches, with those weird yellows and mouldered blues — all those colours and<br />
their combinations bring back repressed memories and feelings that serve as an<br />
inspiration.<br />
• Creative motifs. (What drives your creative practice? What are the topics you are<br />
working on?)<br />
In my works I am touching upon the topics of the disappearance of authenticity<br />
and personality, and the complexity of seeing oneself as an individual. My<br />
painting is about the freedom of being different. Many of my motifs are based on<br />
the imagery of the sports lessons because of my personal experiences and the<br />
desire to liberate myself from them. All these creative ideas are somehow<br />
related to the memories of me jumping over the trestle, making rollovers, or<br />
hanging on a crossbar. A sports hall full of all kinds of children — tall, short,<br />
stocky, spectacled, weak and energetic — and everyone has been attempting at<br />
doing the same tasks. Hanging, climbing, falling down, hanging again, and<br />
jumping up. These distant spaces and exercises are still vivid in my memory. I<br />
feel haunted by them. And my yet unrealised creative tasks are a reminder that<br />
life itself need me to perform and comply with norms.<br />
• What can you tell us about your creative process? Where does your artwork start<br />
and where does it end?<br />
As I look back at these dirty and wind-swept stadiums, I find myself revisiting the<br />
situations when both possibilities and individual choices were still far from my<br />
aspirations. I revitalise those scenes through painting. I thus travel back to those<br />
halls lit by the fluorescent lamps. I am trying to find a relation to the past and the<br />
social environment in which every deviation from the norm resulted in of social<br />
ostracism of one kind or another.<br />
I find the landscape structure that dominates in my pantings important to me:<br />
I regard my past as a series of well trodden and ever-changing landscapes that<br />
sometimes can be completely fictional. The sketchiness in my works refers to<br />
a fleeting nature of a memory. I approach painting differently each time I am<br />
in front of the canvas. The paintings can never be completely finished, and the<br />
empty spaces in them are the clues to the aesthetic continuity between them.<br />
• Have you ever seriously doubted your choice to become an artist? (If so, what<br />
stopped/reassured you?)<br />
I don’t think I have. I like the path I have chosen.<br />
• Do you find the Baltic art scene interesting? (What is your opinion about<br />
Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian art? How would you describe their differences?)<br />
The art of the Baltic region always interested me with its variety of different<br />
stories and motifs, which is always evident in various collaborative projects and<br />
group exhibitions. I find a lot of sensitivity and depth in the works by the Baltic<br />
region artists. I always enjoy visiting the shows, art fairs and performances where<br />
I can encounter their explorations of narrativity, time, memory, everyday truths<br />
and paradoxes of life.<br />
• How did the Young Painter Award influence your artist’s career?<br />
Actually, this Award was really unexpected for me. Being recognised was very<br />
pleasing, I became more confident. These things are important for young artists.<br />
The Award did in fact open the doors to new exhibitions and helped with my<br />
visibility, not to mention the memorable residence in Norwegian mountains<br />
where I had a chance to develop many creative ideas.
Jumping the goat. 179x179cm, oil on canvas, 2014
126<br />
JURY:<br />
2014<br />
Arild H. Eriksen<br />
/ Art Historian / Nordic Artists’ Centre Dale Director<br />
Laima Kreivytė<br />
/ Art Critic / Curator<br />
Gintaras Makarevičius<br />
/ Painter<br />
Barry Schwabsky<br />
/ Art Critic FOR THE NATION, ARTFORUM / Art Historian<br />
Iliana Veinberga<br />
/ Art Critic<br />
Andris Vitolins<br />
/ Painter / Head of Painting department / Art Academy of Latvia<br />
PATRONS:<br />
Mindaugas Raila, Nicolas Ortiz family, Dali van Roiij Rakutyte,<br />
Modernaus meno centras, Lewben Art Foundation<br />
PRIZES:<br />
The Main Prize: 2500 eur + two months’ residence in Nordic Artists’ Centre Dale,<br />
Norway, with a monthly grant of nok 8000,-<br />
Public Prize: Delfi Prize<br />
Talk: “Morandi’s Window: The Place of the Contemporary Artist”. The lecture by<br />
writer and art critic Barry Schwabsky in National Gallery of Art<br />
SPONSORS:<br />
Lietuvos kultūros taryba, echogonewrong, artnews.lt, airLITUANICA,<br />
Clear Channel, Downtown Forest Hostel, Delfi, ŠMC, NDG, Radisson Blu Hotel<br />
SPACE:<br />
Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius; Lithuanian Artists Association Gallery
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X<br />
2015
Young<br />
Painter<br />
Prize<br />
130<br />
2015<br />
<strong>YPP</strong>’15<br />
Andrius<br />
Ivanovas<br />
PRIZE WINNER
Interview 132<br />
• What can you tell us about your creative process? Where does your artwork start<br />
and where does it end?<br />
• Why painting? (How did you discover this medium and why have you chosen it?)<br />
I gave painting a try during my undergraduate studies. Two years later, while I<br />
was still already in the process of acquiring an MA in Sculpture, my efforts at<br />
conventional painting brought me the Young Painter Award.<br />
• What inspires you? (Individuals, contexts, etc.)<br />
I am amazed by Facebook and Pusheen the cat. I love combat animation films and<br />
American new wave rap with performers such as Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, and<br />
Tay-K47. By making their music without messing with the social contexts, they<br />
are spreading this honest joy about things, and I feel that my creative process is<br />
influenced by this movement.<br />
• Creative motifs. (What drives your creative practice? What are the topics you are<br />
working on?)<br />
My painting ‘<strong>Book</strong> Shelf’ comes to mind. As I was painting the photograph of my<br />
late grandfather, I was also trying to imagine someone who had a happy life. I<br />
also feel inspired whenever I find genuine happiness in the worldly processes. I<br />
now realised that my practice of painting — the medium I no longer use — was<br />
a form of self-observation. I am interested in creativity insofar as it is a form of<br />
admiring myself and making ‘cool stuff.’ For example, I have created a steel wool<br />
‘bomber’ suit for the ‘Bennu Day’. Bennu is a half-a-kilometre wide asteroid that<br />
has a 1:2,700 chance of striking Earth in 2135. Due to the kinetic energy released<br />
during an impact that would heat up the planet, the ‘bomber’ costume is<br />
expected to shine brightly for a second, before the person wearing the costume<br />
is blown away by an impact wave that would roll across the whole planet.<br />
“Shining like I’m megaman” (Tay-K 47).<br />
I don’t know how to respond to this question. My creative ideas often come from<br />
an intersection between my interest in science and my religious experiences.<br />
There are also collaborations with other people that allow for fun ‘margins of<br />
error’ to emerge. My works often cease to exist with the termination of the<br />
services commissioned by my clients. And I remain involved in doing all other<br />
stuff only for as long as it brings me joy.<br />
• Have you ever seriously doubted your choice to become an artist? (If so, what<br />
stopped/reassured you?)<br />
I understand identity as something that is in constant flux depending on what we<br />
are involved in at a certain moment. Sometimes I am an artist, but I cease to be<br />
one when I’m not creating. So I am never tormented by identity-related doubts.<br />
• Do you find the Baltic art scene interesting? (What is your opinion about<br />
Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian art? How would you describe their differences?)<br />
I am not an art fanatic, and I guess I am not even interested in it. The art of the<br />
Baltic region does not interest me and I pay no attention to it. Thus I can’t say<br />
anything about this ‘art field.’<br />
• How did the Young Painter Award influence your artist’s career?<br />
The Young Painter Prize had no impact on my visibility and I still have no career<br />
as an artist.
Shelf of books. 200x100cm, oil on canvas, 2015
138<br />
JURY:<br />
2015<br />
Vano Allsalu<br />
/ Painter / President of the Estonian Artists’ Association<br />
Tina Kaplár<br />
/ Art Historian / editor-in-chief of ArtGuideEast<br />
Patrik Entian<br />
/ Swedish Painter based in Norway / Artist-in-Residence centre Nordic Artists’ Centre<br />
Dalsåsen board member<br />
Justė Jonutytė<br />
/ Rupert director / Art Manager<br />
Kate Sutton<br />
/ art critic / writer at Artforum, Bidoun, Frieze, Ibraaz, and LEAP /<br />
Jaan Toomik<br />
/ Video Artist / Painter<br />
PATRONS:<br />
Mindaugas Raila, Nicolas Ortiz family, Dali van Roiij Rakutyte,<br />
Modernaus meno centras<br />
PRIZES:<br />
The Main Prize: 2500 eur + two months’ residence in Nordic Artists’ Centre Dale,<br />
Norway, with a monthly grant of nok 8000,-<br />
Two Additional Prizes: 500 eur each<br />
Public Prize: Delfi Prize<br />
Talk: Kate Sutton “Resurrection Day: Contemporary Art and its Future Visions” at<br />
the centre for creative industries “Pakrantė” in Vilnius<br />
SPONSORS:<br />
Delfi, Lietuvos Kultūros Taryba, artnews, echogonewrong, airLituanica,<br />
Downtown Forest hotel, Radisson blu astoria<br />
SPACE:<br />
Pakrantė
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X<br />
2016
Young<br />
Painter<br />
Prize<br />
142<br />
2016<br />
<strong>YPP</strong>’16<br />
Rosanda<br />
Sorakaitė<br />
PRIZE WINNER
Interview 144<br />
• What can you tell us about your creative process? Where does your artwork start<br />
and where does it end?<br />
• Why painting? (How did you discover this medium and why have you chosen it?)<br />
Even though I loved drawing and crafts since my early childhood, I did not attend<br />
to any of the art schools or groups. I guess Art classes at school were enough for<br />
me and I received my art basics from the teachers there. I always loved drawing<br />
in solitude, I lived inside my own world where I did not need any guidance. It<br />
was only later, after finishing school, when I decided to take up private drawing<br />
lessons. My teacher was a painter and at first I was just copying everything he<br />
did. I was completely captivated by oil painting the very first time I tried it, it was<br />
a really special experience. I was surprised and mesmerised by this tremendous<br />
power that comes from using it when you’re really focused on what you’re doing.<br />
• What inspires you? (Individuals, contexts, etc.)<br />
The inspiration comes naturally as soon as I find a good motif — if the imagery is<br />
captivating, then the whole process rolls naturally. I am always inspired by good<br />
art I see in exhibitions, but everyday situations can be just as inspiring for me.<br />
• Creative motifs. (What drives your creative practice? What are the topics you are<br />
working on?)<br />
I can tell what interests me only when I reflect on what emerges and recurs in my<br />
work over time. I never choose a specific topic. All my works are reflections of my<br />
own life, so their motif is always the same. I am expressing myself through<br />
objects that surround me at home, in my workshop, or during the commute.<br />
These reemerging motifs are slowly developing with time, and I love this process<br />
a lot.<br />
I always start working from an image I already have thought through, even<br />
though I know that this image might change radically during the process of<br />
painting. I usually start with focusing on something that already had caught my<br />
attention before – this is when I start imagining the painting and shaping its<br />
visual motifs. I usually work on several paintings simultaneously, which leads to<br />
the formation of groups and series of works. I like slowing down and allowing<br />
myself to be carried away by my intuition. It’s good when I am able to achieve<br />
something new and improve on my technique, but sometimes the days are just<br />
as good as they get.<br />
• Have you ever seriously doubted your choice to become an artist? (If so, what<br />
stopped/reassured you?)<br />
Indeed I have. Especially when I have to fight for my time to create and break<br />
away from the grind. However the sense of liberation that comes with painting<br />
remains the biggest motivator. I am lucky to have a husband who is also an artist,<br />
which means we can support each other in overcoming these difficulties.<br />
• Do you find the Baltic art scene interesting? (What is your opinion about<br />
Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian art? How would you describe their differences?)<br />
It is interesting that this seemingly small region retains its distinct artistic<br />
languages despite being swept by the tendencies that tend to unify them. And<br />
the Young Painter Prize does a good work discovering and showcasing new<br />
interesting painters.<br />
• How did the Young Painter Award influence your artist’s career?<br />
Yes. Because of its popularity here in Lithuania, the Young Painter Prize helped<br />
me with the publicity and visibility. Meanwhile my career remains on the same<br />
path, I’m still busy in my workshop painting the night lights.
Night light. 200x150cm, acrylic and oil on canvas, 2016
150<br />
JURY:<br />
2016<br />
Tina Kaplár<br />
/ artguideeast.com<br />
Ugnė Bužinskaitė<br />
/ Lewben Art Foundation<br />
Oleksandr Shchelushchenko<br />
/ TSEKH gallery, galerist<br />
Andrius Zakarauskas<br />
/ painter / <strong>YPP</strong>’09 winner<br />
Siim Preiman<br />
/ Tallinn Art Hall / Curator<br />
Lino Lago<br />
/ painter<br />
PATRONS:<br />
Mindaugas Raila, Nicolas Ortiz family, Dali van Roiij Rakutyte and Lewben Art<br />
Foundation<br />
PRIZES:<br />
The Main Prize: 2500 eur + two months’ residence in in ICA Budapest artist<br />
residence, Hungary<br />
Two Additional Prizes: 500 eur each<br />
Public Prize: Delfi Prize<br />
SPONSORS:<br />
Delfi, Lietuvos Kultūros Taryba, BOOKinn, Coffee inn<br />
SPACE:<br />
TSEKH Gallery
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X<br />
2017
Young<br />
Painter<br />
Prize<br />
154<br />
2017<br />
<strong>YPP</strong>’17<br />
Alexei<br />
Gordin<br />
PRIZE WINNER
Interview 156<br />
• What inspires you? (Individuals, contexts, etc.)<br />
• Why painting? (How did you discover this medium and why have you chosen it?)<br />
Asked about when did I start drawing or painting, I always give the same answer:<br />
early in the childhood, just like we all did. The only difference between me and<br />
someone who is not an artist is that I never quit. For me, the secondary school<br />
classes were always boring as hell. Drawing was the only thing that used to save<br />
me from falling into depression. All my study books and papers were full of<br />
drawings. Some were funny, others were violent. At some point teachers simply<br />
got used to it.<br />
At the age of 15–17, I started studying art more seriously. Especially animations,<br />
comic art, caricature, and photography. In addition to drawing I started taking<br />
a lot of pictures of my surrounds. At that time I making mostly black and white<br />
pencil drawings on paper. These were black-and-white times: all my photographs<br />
and drawings were monochrome. When I had to decide what to do after<br />
finishing school, Art Academy came as an obvious choice. Everybody who knew<br />
me where sure I was going to study art. I did not know much about installation<br />
art or sculpture, nor did I know anything about printmaking. Although I did not<br />
have much of the painting experience, I decided to apply for painting program.<br />
I turned out to be the worst painter in the class. I regarded painting as ‘drawing<br />
with brushes.’ I gradually became interested in colours and learned about how<br />
layers of paint can turn into unpredictable surfaces. In the year 2011 Estonian Art<br />
Academy rejected my MA applicationthe at the. For the following three years I<br />
was working on my own, managing various painting, photography and film<br />
projects. In 2014 I got accepted into the MA program at the Helsinki Art Academy.<br />
That was also a start of my professional career.<br />
I think it is the absurdity of life that has always been my main inspiration. The<br />
world around us can be a complicated thing. It could be much better, but people<br />
keep making the same mistakes all over again. We don’t learn from history. Our<br />
values are extremely artificial and controversial, and our picture of the world is<br />
sometimes incredibly poor. Growing up in post-soviet Russia and Estonia, I witnessed<br />
a lot of depression, fear, and hopelessness. My early works were all about<br />
people being lost in this crazy world. The main protagonists of my early cartoonish<br />
drawings were social anti-heroes, alcoholics, bums and junkies. Later, when<br />
my professional career started to develop, I starated witnessing a lot of absurdity<br />
in art world as well. At first our ideas about being an artist are deeply romanticized.<br />
Then we start encountering various uncomfortable things about the art society<br />
and the art market. Many artists don’t talk about all that. And those who do,<br />
have nothing going on for them. There were times I was questioning my choice<br />
to become artist. I had no money and no hope. Although I considered making art<br />
being the best thing in the world, I had doubts about my committing to it. However<br />
these doubts are also the source of inspiration. I would prefer not to be too<br />
serious in my works. There is no point in being serious in such a world with its<br />
absurd beliefs. I am inspired by our everyday thoughts, observations, and stupid<br />
jokes. My dissatisfaction is the main thing that keeps me doing stuff.<br />
• Creative motifs. (What drives your creative practice? What are the topics you are<br />
working on?)<br />
Nowadays my main motif is the existence of an artist in the world of strict and<br />
blind rules of capitalism. In fact half of the artists in this world seem to be thematising<br />
the struggle against capitalism. Somehow, this world does not make artists<br />
happy. I have witnessed a lot of insecurity among creative people. It is hard<br />
to survive even with the ingenious ideas, unless they are practical. My favourite<br />
motifs relate to how spirituality and money, and the will to create and the desire<br />
for stable life crash into each other. My art arises from my personal fears and<br />
anxieties about being an artist, and it extends into global topics such as social<br />
traumas and anxieties, politics, poverty, love and hate.
158<br />
• What can you tell us about your creative process? Where does your artwork start<br />
and where does it end?<br />
I am quite random at doing things. I never plan or puzzle over developing<br />
narratives and concepts. My working process is like writing a diary — nI just<br />
create different snippets every day, and then revisit them later , uniting them<br />
into complete series of compositions in the form of an exhibition. My<br />
background is animation, and I always appreciated the ability of a simple, even<br />
stupid picture to say so much about life.<br />
Once I’ve got an idea inos my mind, I take blank canvas, or a camera, or whatever,<br />
and bring it to life. I can not say where my pictures come from, but usually I see a<br />
complete image in my head. The most interesting thing is that a completed work<br />
of art does differs from its idea. The process brings so many new things into it.<br />
For example, solving technical problems always brings something new to the<br />
picture because I tend to try something I have never tried before. I never work<br />
on several works simultaneously. Usually it is only one painting or one video at<br />
a time. After the work is done, I spend a few days just looking at it. Sometimes I<br />
add something, sometimes not. It is simple, really: the work is ready when I start<br />
to enjoy the result.<br />
• Have you ever seriously doubted your choice to become an artist? (If so, what<br />
stopped/reassured you?)<br />
Of course. I question myself every day about what the hell am I doing and who<br />
really needs my work. As I already mentioned, I went through some hard times<br />
when I had no money and no hope for the future. There were times when, after<br />
working on an exhibition for a whole year, I saw 10 people showing up at the<br />
exhibition opening. At some point I decided to make art for myself. In the end,<br />
it’s only thing I enjoy. I stayed honest with myself about what I was doing.<br />
Without any big expectations, without any attempts to fit into some circles. Just<br />
creating various stuff what I consider necessary for the moment. After some time,<br />
people started noticing my work. I can now say that I am doing art not only for<br />
myself, but for the people as well. There would be no Gordin without those who<br />
appreciate and reflect on my way of thinking. But I am still not feeling secure<br />
about either today or tomorrow. However, as I have already mentioned, l I am<br />
inspired by my own fears and anxieties about what it means to be an artist.<br />
• Do you find the Baltic art scene interesting? (What is your opinion about<br />
Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian art? How would you describe their differences?)<br />
I am not well versed in art theory. I usually just enjoy looking at an artwork<br />
without digging into the geopolitical or cultural contexts. I am interested in all<br />
kinds of art fields, whether they are Baltic, Scandinavian or South African. The<br />
Estonian art scene and a country as a whole become more and more focused on<br />
technology. Estonia now advertises itself as an ‘e-country.’ No doubt this reflects<br />
on art as well. There are not many painters among the young generation of<br />
artists. Our scene is becoming extremely oriented toward the new media. I am<br />
sure that Lithuanian and Latvian art scenes are a bit more traditional. Art schools<br />
are paying more attention to the basics of the craft and there are more promising<br />
young painters. During the past few years, Estonia have expanded its contacts<br />
with Scandinavian and West European art scenes, while Latvian and Lithuanian<br />
scenes are still quite localised.<br />
• How did the Young Painter Award influence your artist’s career?<br />
After winning the the <strong>YPP</strong> competition I received a huge amount of attention.<br />
I was bombarded with articles, interviews, and congratulations from numerous<br />
colleagues. The Award helps you to believe in yourself, and realise that your<br />
work can be appreciated on a global scale. But then you forget about it quickly,<br />
just like most other people do. It is hard to see how the <strong>YPP</strong> affected my career<br />
in a long run because it has been less than a year since I received the Award. The<br />
first part of the year 2018 was crazy, I could not even handle the amount of<br />
invitations to participate in various exhibitions. Surely the fact of being a <strong>YPP</strong><br />
awardee played a big role, because my name became quite visible everywhere.<br />
Now that this PR tsunami is calming down, I still have to make plans for the next<br />
year, after the <strong>YPP</strong> exhibition in Pamenkalnio Gallery (Vilnius). Generally, my<br />
personal experience shows that any presentation of your work is good. It does<br />
not matter whether you won something or not. You never know who will see it<br />
and where it will lead you. Winning a big competition definitely feed your ego,<br />
and it should not happen too often. When it happened to me, I took maximum<br />
from this experience and realised the power of public attention.
Alone in the studio. 120x180cm, acrylic on canvas, 2017
164<br />
JURY:<br />
2017<br />
Renāte Prancāne<br />
/ Executive Director / Contemporary Art Centre kim?<br />
Arvydas Žalpys<br />
/ Galerist and Art Critic / Gallery Meno Parkas<br />
Leevi Haapala<br />
/ Museum Director / Museum of Contemporary Art KIASMA<br />
Triin Tulgiste<br />
/ Curator, Project Manager / Contemporary Art Gallery Kumu<br />
Linsey Young<br />
/ Curator, Contemporary British Art / Contemporary Art Museum TATE<br />
Vilmantas Marcinkevičius<br />
/ Painter / Young Painter Prize initiator<br />
PATRONS:<br />
Mindaugas Raila, Nicolas Ortiz family, Dali van Roiij Rakutyte and Lewben Art<br />
Foundation<br />
PRIZES:<br />
The Main Prize: 2.000 EUR + August/September 2018 a studio and<br />
accommodation in SomoS artist residency in Berlin + Personal exhibition in<br />
Pamėnkalnio galerijaGallery<br />
Public Prize: Delfi Prize<br />
SPONSORS:<br />
Delfi, Lietuvos Kultūros Taryba, Amandus, Artagonist hotel, Somos berlin,<br />
Pamėnkalnio galerija<br />
SPACE:<br />
Titanikas Gallery
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X<br />
2018
Young<br />
Painter<br />
Prize<br />
168<br />
2018<br />
<strong>YPP</strong>’18<br />
Monika<br />
Plentauskaitė<br />
PRIZE WINNER
Interview 170<br />
• Painting? Why? Was there a pivotal moment when you decided to follow your<br />
path as an artist? (how did this media appear on your creative road, why is it?)<br />
Visual arts, and most importantly painting, appeared in my life in my childhood.<br />
It happened, I would say, organically, because my parents always had a ceramic<br />
workshop at home where I was a frequent guest. I constantly found out what<br />
to do there - whether to mold, or to paint with glazes. In fifth grade I entered<br />
Kaunas Art School on my own initiative, which allowed me to continue on this<br />
path. Painting has become the preferred form of expression, this media allows<br />
me to control the surface while leaving space for a chance. At the same time, the<br />
painted image is like a fiction and a window to another reality. Real - world rules<br />
do not apply in this space, and the symbols appearing in it speak in indirect,<br />
multi-language. Painting is like a medium that you can see but can not physically<br />
appear in it.<br />
• Who inspires you? What is your greatest indulgence in life? (personality, context,<br />
etc.)<br />
I archive personal photos which helps me to remember events and admire frozen<br />
moments of life. Photographies come from a directly accessible documented<br />
reality, but by converting them into painting, one can talk fictitiously,<br />
symbolically, create new narratives, stories and images about reality. Those who<br />
are portrayed in photographies can act as actors here for new scenes, letting the<br />
author direct the painting and speak on relevant themes.<br />
The history of art and its “weight“ is also my source of inspiration. I always try to<br />
wonder how my painting (or any form of artwork) will interfere with the overall<br />
context of the art history (modern or classical paintings) and what kind of<br />
message it will bring: whether it is new, or perhaps old message, but a rethought.<br />
New inspirations also come at night. Sometimes I experience insomnia, in which<br />
my thoughts are more focused and sharped than usual, and this intuitively brings<br />
images that relate to issues of concern at that time.<br />
• Main motive. (Who are your most interested in your work? What topics do you<br />
consider in your work)<br />
This particular painting „The Female Painter (Self – Portrait)“ is about being a<br />
woman painter nowadays. It is ironical view of perception of a woman as an<br />
artist. I took a self portrait from personal photography and converted it into<br />
theatrical image. Painting lets me change the context of primary photography for<br />
expressing my position and attitude towards poor status of women artists (and<br />
women in general).<br />
---<br />
My paintings are about changing reality of those who are depicted in<br />
photographies. It is about constructing symbolic narratives on canvases, that<br />
suggests new percepton and viewpoint.<br />
• Can you tell us about the process of making your work? From what does it begin<br />
and when does your artwork “end”?<br />
I would say painting begins from studying the reality and in my mind. Then<br />
comes the materialization process – sketches and drawings, photographies<br />
(those personal and owned by me and the new ones if necessary) and<br />
afterall – painting in my studio and directing new scenarios on canvases.<br />
Preferably I work with the daylight from 3 pm till 11 pm with the lamp, observing<br />
the painting in the both lights, because I have to check all the colors in various<br />
kinds of lighting.<br />
Artwork never „ends“ – it always expands itself while it is beeing observed and<br />
interpreted by a viewer.<br />
• Do you have moments in your life when you have been keen on the chosen artist’s<br />
path? Have you ever had a moment when you questioned your career entirely? (if<br />
so, who then returned you? Stopped?)<br />
I developed a sincere passion for the painter profession although it was not an<br />
easy path. Of course, there were moments in my life when I questioned it,<br />
especialy while studying in Vilnius Academy of Arts Painting Department for six<br />
years, but those were very momentary feelings I coped with.<br />
• Are you interested in the art field of the Baltic region? (write your opinion on the<br />
context of the Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian artistic field: differences,<br />
similarities, advantages, aspirations, etc.)<br />
I follow not only The Baltic States art scene, but also artists from all over the<br />
world. In my opinion, we assimilated a bit and there is no clear distribution of<br />
artists by locality and nationality. Of course, identity always plays an important<br />
role of an artist (especially in biography and background), but the internet and<br />
social networks such as „Instagram“ allow us to watch and communicate with<br />
different genres artists from different locations. Still, I try to follow the most<br />
prominent artists and major events of the neighbour countries (for example,<br />
The Riga Biennale, The Baltic Triennial...).
172<br />
The Female Painter (Self-portrait). 140x140cm, oil on canvas, 2018
176<br />
JURY:<br />
2018<br />
Francesca Ferrarini<br />
/ independent art advisor specialized in contemporary art and emerging artists,<br />
art advisor at Lewben Art Foundation, Italy<br />
Bruno Leitão<br />
/ art curator, Curator Director at Artistic Research Center HANGAR, Portugal<br />
Neringa Bumblienė<br />
/ art curator at Contemporary Art Center, researcher and writer, Lithuania<br />
Līna Birzaka-Priekule<br />
/ art historian and curator at the Exhibition Hall Arsenāls, National Museum, Latvia<br />
Kaido Ole<br />
/ painter and sculptor, Estonia<br />
Žygimantas Augustinas<br />
/ artist, Lithuania<br />
JURY FOR SPECIAL MENTION PRIZE:<br />
Artist And Composer Lina Lapelyte,<br />
Art Historian and NDG curator,<br />
Editor of KULTmisijos Jolanta Marcisauskyte -Jurašienė,<br />
Artist, Designer, Researcher, Engineer Julijonas Urbonas<br />
Nerijus Keblys, Art Director at “autoriai”<br />
PATRONS:<br />
Mindaugas Raila, Nicolas Ortiz family, Dali van Roiij Rakutyte,<br />
Lewben Art Foundation, The Bajorunas/Sarnoff Foundation<br />
PRIZES:<br />
The Main Prize: The Main Prize of Young Painter Prize - 2.000 EUR + a studio and<br />
accommodation in Artistic Research Center HANGAR (located in Graça, Lisbon,<br />
Portugal) + solo exhibition in Pamėnkalnio Gallery, in Vilnius<br />
Autoriai Special Mention prize: 1000 eur<br />
The Rooster Gallery Open Aditional Prize: 500 eur<br />
The Main Informative Partner:<br />
JCDecaux<br />
SPONSORS:<br />
Lietuvos Kultūros Taryba, Amandus, PACAI hotel<br />
SPACE:<br />
TSEKH Gallery, Pamėnkalnio Gallery, Titanikas Gallery
178<br />
Young Painter Prize (<strong>YPP</strong>) - one of the most important<br />
art events in the Baltic countries, held since 2009.<br />
This project combines the Lithuanian, Latvian and<br />
Estonian young artists a common goal - to present<br />
their national identity, art school practices and<br />
personal creative potential. According to art critics,<br />
the project has become a kind of Baltic younger<br />
generation painting chronicler, an important<br />
platform for young artists.<br />
The project “Young Painter Prize” welcomes the<br />
participation of young artists from three Baltic States<br />
(Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia). The main aim of the<br />
project - to present the brightest and most promising<br />
painters of the younger generation and to create an<br />
opportunity for public access to such dynamic new art.<br />
Moreover, this projects aims to help its target<br />
audience in both Lithuania and abroad – art<br />
collectors, managers, curators – discover new talent<br />
in Baltic States.<br />
This project is focused solely on artists under 30<br />
years old from all disciplines who have acquired<br />
(or are in the process of acquiring) a diploma in art.<br />
The age limit has been imposed deliberately as the<br />
organisers wish to concentrate only on those very<br />
young artists who have just graduated (or are<br />
graduating) universities and have not yet had the<br />
opportunity to appear in public. This category of<br />
young artists is most vulnerable and has the largest<br />
need for support.
Young<br />
Painter<br />
Prize<br />
2018