On March 20 at 6 PM, the opening of Iveta Šmidt’s exhibition ‘Greiž’ (a grayish sand color) will take place at Lukiškės Prison 2.0 (in the wing). The exhibition will run until April 20.
‘Freedom without individuality is an illusion’ Albert Camus
Set in the harsh, echoing corridors of the historic Lukiškės Prison, this exhibition is an intimate and thought-provoking journey through the layers of personal and social imprisonment. The artist uses the prison environment to reinforce the exploration of inner “prisons” – those walls we build within ourselves due to external pressures and self-imposed limitations.
The exhibition comprises three different rooms, each with its own colours – red, blue and green – symbolising different emotional states and moments of reflection. These spaces, like the prison itself, are both physical and metaphorical, inviting viewers to confront the limits of freedom and imprisonment in their own lives.
Red, the colour of danger, passion and power, encourages us to stop and question whether our reactions and desires are really our own, or whether they are a product of society’s expectations. Blue offers a quieter, more introspective space – a room of contemplation, where the struggle for authenticity clashes with the isolation of self-doubt. Finally, green offers a sense of rebirth, a hopeful vision of freedom from the invisible constraints of modern life.
In this exhibition, art is not only presented as a passive experience. It demands an engagement with questions of personal autonomy, authenticity and the role we play in building our own cages. The cold, oppressive environment of Lukiškės Prison provides the perfect backdrop for this conversation. Once a place of physical confinement, the prison now reflects the psychological barriers explored in the artist’s work, making each room a visceral exploration
In an era of social media superficiality, dominated by ‘greige’ minimalism – a beige and grey aesthetic without character – this exhibition offers a retort: has the dominance of contemporary visual culture on social networks led to a poverty of creativity? All this monochrome emptiness creates the feeling that the world is sinking into boredom, having lost the ability to be bright and bold.
The artist criticises the hollow uniformity of visual culture and asks us to reconsider the cost of adapting to trends that take away individuality. Reflecting on the immense pressure to conform to the narrow confines of the Instagram aesthetic, the exhibition becomes not only an artistic statement, but also a call to break free from the prison of conformism.
By placing this reflection within the confines of a former prison, the exhibition becomes a profound meditation on the nature of freedom itself – both what we allow ourselves and what the world around us does not allow us. It is a celebration of breaking down boundaries, of challenging the norms we often accept without question, and of embracing the full spectrum of who we are.
