Reykjavik Art Museum, Island present “Creature/ Vera” – a site-specific installation by Lithuanian artist Tomas Martišauskis.
Creature/Vera is a postmodern take on the relationship between sculptural matter and the space. Using advanced technologies he translates a specific sculptural object into various mediums thus expanding the notion of traditional sculpture. Paradoxical relationship between authenticity and a copy enables to see different aspects of the object: its interior and exterior, its sound, plasticity in animation and in the structural drawing.
Tomas Martišauskis (b. 1977) is a Lithuanian artist, who works in various media such as sculpture, installations and photography. He has participated in various solo and group exhibitions both in Lithuania and abroad. Tomas‘ practice is best described as an analysis of visual strategies and mechanisms of culture. His theoretically informed use of technology as an alternative to craft emphasizes the spectacularization of the contemporary society. As Guy Debord manifested in the 60’s, everything that was once real has now become a spectacle, a representation of things, and Martišauskis‘ practise elevates this all consuming idea of simulation to the surface through imitating real life, and creating indexical objects, that preserve a hint, an iconographical clue, or a personal memory. His background in sculpture is evident in the intelligent use of materials, such as plaster, wood, and even prescious metals. Playing with their archetypal meaning, that is deaply rooted in tradition, he subtitutes their reign as sculptural materials with technological alternatives, to create a modified reality.
The exhibition is a part of the Cultural Program of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and supported by The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania.
The installation will be on view throughout 14 Sept. 2013 – 12 Jan. 2014