On Thursday, August 21, at 6 p.m., the Meno Niša Gallery in Vilnius is hosting the opening of the solo exhibition of paintings entitled Embrace Yourself with Me by Gintaras Makarevičius, winner of the Lithuanian National Culture and Arts Prize.
When presenting his upcoming exhibition, Gintaras Makarevičius emphasized the spontaneity of his works’ subconscious creation process and the fact that he does not always choose to exhibit them.
“Most of the time when I paint, I don’t know what I’m painting. I might realize it’s a landscape or a face, but it’s only later that I understand the deeper intention and what “came out”. Such works interest me the most, but I often find it difficult to decide to show them in public. They tend to be random in style, as if they have no clear artistic strategy, because they come from the subconscious,” he shared, emphasizing that, after creating such a piece, he experiences a sense of relief and euphoria, as if an act of materialization had taken place.
If you try to consciously replicate the process, it doesn’t work. You can imitate the style and paint in a similar manner, but the work lacks authenticity and doesn’t come together spontaneously.
According to the artist, he wanted to understand the meaning of such works today, as well as what they meant to him 40 years ago when he first started painting. “As far as I can remember, the painting process that constructed the structure (or lack thereof) of the work, its composition, and its visual language has remained almost unchanged. The spontaneous psychophysical principle of gesture painting, which best expressed what I went through at the time, and the aesthetic value canons formed then still influence me unconsciously today,” the artist added.
According to exhibition curator and art historian Sonata Baliuckaitė, Makarevičius’ painting is, first and foremost, an exploration of himself, his surroundings, and the world. “The artist does not let go of characters who seem to be depersonalized or stripped down to skeletons and skulls, which make up the bodies of us all. Although the artist has recently created abstract works as if seeking to free himself from the constraints of depiction, it became impossible to present G. Makarevičius’ work without skulls once the exhibition began to take shape. They seem to emerge from the subconscious; even when looking at an abstract landscape, phantoms begin to form in your mind,” she said.
Gintaras Makarevičius is one of Lithuania’s most prominent contemporary artists, working across visual art, scenography, and documentary film. After initially studying architecture, he developed an interest in painting and continued his studies in the Painting Department at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. He has taught at the Academy since 1995. Makarevičius’ artistic activities also include scenography. Having started his career in theater, he is now one of the most prominent set designers in Lithuania, creating sets for theaters in Lithuania and abroad. He has been awarded three Golden Stage Crosses for his work as a set designer.
The artist made a name for himself in the field of painting in 2016 when he held an exhibition called Surrender at the Vilnius Academy of Arts’ Titanikas exhibition halls. In 2018, his work was presented at the ArtVilnius’18 art fair and, in the same year, his solo exhibition, Time Trap, opened at the Meno Niša gallery. In 2022, his exhibition of drawings, Plastic Crow, opened. The Meno Niša gallery has also presented Makarevičius’ work at international art fairs in Vienna, Berlin, Vilnius, Warsaw, and Basel.
G. Makarevičius’ exhibition Embrace Yourself with Me is on display at the Meno Niša gallery in Vilnius until October 4. The exhibition is organized by the Meno Niša gallery and is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture. The Meno Niša gallery is sponsored by the Vilnius City Municipality.