Photo reportage from the group exhibition 'Intermediate Glooms' at the Meno Parkas Gallery

January 25, 2025
Author Echo Gone Wrong

Published in Photo / Video from Lithuania

The group exhibition Intermediate Glooms is currently on view at Meno Parkas Gallery (Rotušės a. 27, Kaunas) until February 3rd.

The contemporary condition oscillates between clarity and distortion, where reality is mediated through layers of screens and codes. Rooted in the generational experiences of artists raised alongside digital technologies, the exhibition explores how these tools have shaped our understanding of reality, intimacy, and materiality.

This examination naturally leads to the concept of intermediacy, which appears as an active and generative state rather than a passive absence. Transitional space materializes in the interaction between the personal and the algorithmic. In this state, perception becomes a field of negotiation. Digital interfaces, video game aesthetics, and generative processes engage with the psychological dimensions of uncertainty—an openness to ambiguity that enables fresh ways of experiencing and interpreting the world.

The artworks go beyond the limits of traditional painting by merging classical techniques with digital interventions. Through algorithmic inputs and projections that animate surfaces, the exhibition comes into state of being in-between. These pieces balance the interactions between mechanical detachment and the presence of human touch.

Hybrid approach leads to a broader reflections on the nature of reality itself. As a concept, reality has always been contingent—a synthesis of individual experience and social synchronization. This insight traces its lineage through the evolution of human thought, from the certainties of positivism to the interpretative flexibility of constructivist epistemology. Salman Rushdie encapsulates this tension, writing, “truth has always been a contested idea.” Similarly, Nabokov observed that “reality” is “one of the few words which mean nothing without quotes.” In an era where almost every action, gesture, and word can be digitally fabricated, the quotation marks around reality have become less symbolic and more literal, casting doubt on what can truly be known or trusted.

This epistemic fragility paves the way for “not-knowing” as a generative state. Rather than seeking definitive answers, this approach embraces uncertainty as the foundation for encountering the material and immaterial worlds. It shifts the focus from knowledge as a fixed to knowing as an evolving practice—one that allows for the continuous emergence of new meanings and realities.

Within multiplicity lies what might be termed an “ambiguity of certainty,” where everything is simultaneously real and unreal, depending on the vantage point. Each layer of reality operates under its own set of rules, often contradicting those of other layers, yet retaining its validity within its context. This fragmentation does not diminish the significance of these realities; rather, it emphasizes their relational nature, where truth becomes a negotiation rather than an absolute.

Text by: Dovilė Morkūnaitė-Žilinskė

Curator: Mantas Valentukonis

Artists: Šarūnas Baltrukonis, Gasparas Zondovas, Emilie Alstrup, Sandra Golubjevaitė, Indrė Rybakovaitė, Clara Schweers, Klaidas Paškevičius, Andrius Kviliūnas, Eglė Marcinkevičiūtė, Andrius Zakarauskas, Adomas Rybakovas, Jurga Barilaitė, Neda Naujokaitė, Lukas Marciulevičius, Mantas Valentukonis, Emilija Povilanskaitė

The exhibition is part of Meno Parkas Gallery‘s project „Ether. 2025“. The project is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture.

Photography: Lukas Mykolaitis