The Ambassadors (Les Ambassadeurs) is a group exhibition of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art collection as well as works by Lithuanian artists from various generations, presenting a multidimensional view of contemporary Lithuanian art. On display at Fondation Fiminco from 11 October to 1 December, the exhibition showcases the country’s culture in a way that reveals its complexity and the multifaceted relationships of its art community.
As we live–that is, work, love, rest and create–in Lithuania, we must acknowledge some challenging truths. We come from the land, culture and history that have many a time been on the brink of vanishing or being destroyed. We still have scars, wounds and curses written in alien alphabets. We possess structures and conditions that do not necessarily suit us, we have a sense of global threat and are located at a close distance from its potential epicentre. But even amidst these streams of anxiety, one remarkable constant emerges, and that is vitality. The choice to remain on the side of the living is the same choice we make as we dive into the lake, sing tipsy songs, realise our passion, lay bare our pain, hum in the woods and drive at full speed towards a vague future. The exhibition features works that embody precisely this openness to personal, collective, local and global challenges. In the context of the rapidly changing Romainville district and its cultural institutions, they become our Ambassadors.
The exhibited artists represent very different and often complex artistic movements, among which several trends can be identified. The videos, drawings, photographs and installations on display reflect the collective search for stability and solidity, as well as their inevitable complications, subtle humour, reflections on the spirit of place and on carnal life, aesthetic and conceptual dialogues about the art scene and the history of the institutions that have formed this scene. Since many of the exhibited participants can also be seen in other shows of the 2024 Lithuanian cultural season, this exhibition can also be imagined as an experimental index of different creative histories.
Exhibition architecture and design are also of note, as they interact both physically and conceptually with the spaces of the Fondation Fiminco. Exhibition architecture aims for light and spaciousness that resonates with the industrial architecture of the building. Exhibition design also strives for harmony between a contemporary straightforwardness and subtle classical elements that refer to the imaginary aliveness of the ambassadors. In this manner, The Ambassadors becomes an exhibition not only of artworks, but also of relationships, dreams, visions and positions. The panorama of Lithuanian culture that it presents cannot fit into a single word or body–it is a narrative that constantly rethinks itself, with hundreds of its voices traversing the borders of institutions and countries alike.
Curators: Monika Kalinauskaitė, Aušra Trakšelytė
Organisers: Lithuanian National Museum of Art, Fondation Fiminco
Artists: Gediminas G. Akstinas, Eglė Budvytytė and Bart Groenendaal, Adomas Danusevičius, Karla Gruodis, Lina Lapelytė, Mindaugas Lukošaitis, Rūtė Merk, Beatričė Mockevičiūtė, Robertas Narkus, Valdas Ozarinskas, Gerda Paliušytė, Artūras Raila, Ieva Rojūtė, Ieva Kotryna Ski and Janina Sabaliauskaitė, Anastasia Sosunova, Rimaldas Vikšraitis
Architect: Gediminas G. Akstinas
Graphic designer: Vilmantas Žumbys
Translators: Martynas Galkus, Anne Masiulis
11 October–1 December 2024
Fondation Fiminco
43 Rue de la Commune de Paris, 93230, Romainville, France
From Tuesday to Saturday from 2PM to 6PM
Photography: Daria Sobolevska
