“This is the second personal exhibition of Andris Vītoliņš in the gallery Meno Niša. The first one took place in 2019, and we are very happy to continue the successful international cooperation with this famous Latvian artist,” said Diana Stomienė, the head of Meno Niša. She also emphasized that this year the gallery is celebrating its 20th anniversary with Andris Vītoliņš.
Andris Vītoliņš is a Latvian painter, professor, and Vice-Rector at the Art Academy of Latvia. Since 1996, the artist has been actively participating in exhibitions both in Latvia and other European countries – Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Austria. Vītoliņš has long been interested in the industrial theme: machines, various vehicles, mechanisms, factories and their parts – pipes, screws, taps, connections. He has a master’s degree in painting from the Art Academy of Latvia, a bachelor’s degree in visual communication, he studied at the Faculty of Design for 3 years. In 2004, Andris Vītoliņš won the annual award of the “Latvijas Architektūra” magazine for Best Debut.
Andris Vītoliņš is also known to Lithuanian art visitors from the art fair ArtVilnius, where he participated both as an artist and as the chairman of the international jury for selecting the best participants.
The exhibition We Need a Chance to Be Reborn focuses on the ability of an individual in crisis situations to see a vision of the future. Thus, the works of the artist Andris Vītoliņš combine confidence in an idea, a thought, and “rebirth” in physical space. Namely, ideas that have evolved into things and objects are given the opportunity to be reborn and renewed in paintings.
“In my works, I try to capture the vibrant fluency of the world. On the one hand, paintings are inhabited by man-made, relatively stable structures, but on the other hand, there is also a sense of an irrational world that extends far beyond the earthly, obvious environment. I have noticed that our encounters with many things and phenomena are like flashes – at first, a thought or a process is active, but in an instant, it fades and disappears. At this moment, our physical position is crucial – whether we are in the center of the processes or on the periphery,” the author of the exhibition Andris Vītoliņš talks about the artistic statement of his show We Need a Chance to Be Reborn.
The supporter of the exhibition is Signet Bank which has long been diversifying both foreign and domestic art space, creating the bank’s private art collection, which currently includes more than 40 works in various techniques – painting, sculpture, graphics, photography, etc. Signet Bank has frequently participated in strengthening local cultural life, so it was natural to support the solo exhibition of the domestic artist Andris Vītoliņš, plus, the artist’s painting The Flying Dutchman is in the private collection of Signet Bank.
The opening of the exhibition at the Town Hall will welcome visitors who have the National Certificate or the EU Digital COVID Certificate and facial protection no lower than the FFP2 respirator. During later days of the exhibition, both at the Town Hall and the gallery Meno Niša, the National Certificate will not be required, only medical masks will suffice.
The exhibition of A. Vītoliņš We Need a Chance to Be Reborn will be waiting for visitors from February 3 to 26 in two locations: Vilnius Town Hall and the gallery Meno Niša. The opening of the exhibition will take place on February 3, at 6 pm, at Vilnius Town Hall.
Andris Vītoliņš about exhibition We Need a Chance to Be Reborn:
“The main idea of the exhibition was formed as a result of long reflection. What unites all the works is the confidence that ideas, thoughts, and visions materialize. If a person has a vision and aches to realize it, thoughts can become physically tangible.
Our ideas burst into an endless stream. A continuous process is formed, objects come to life, setting everything in motion. As the ideas that have evolved into objects are revitalized and renewed in paintings, this streaming flow continues forever. And we believe it.
Thoughts can wear off, but they can also regenerate. The notion of “rebirth” is in some way related to this. There are moments in life when we do not see a solution, when the vision of the future is lost… Rebirth can also relate to ideas.
“In my works, both stars as flares and precious stones as raindrops embody the ideas of civilization in their own way. Whether it’s in Wagner’s raging sea or Neo Rauch’s starburst.
I try to capture the vibrant fluency of the world. On the one hand, the paintings are inhabited by man-made, relatively stable structures, but on the other hand, there is also a sense of an irrational world that extends far beyond the earthly, obvious environment. I have noticed that our encounters with many things and phenomena are like flashes – at first a thought or a process is active, but in an instant it fades and disappears. At this moment, our physical position is crucial – whether we are in the centre of the processes or on the periphery.
It is at those moments when ideas wear off and the star burns out that the next stage of “rebirth” becomes important. I am also interested in the moment when several ideas detonate simultaneously. What comes after that? Do the strongest prevail? Does the wave caused by the explosion extinguish the nearby thought? Because of this uncertainty, in many of my works I try to break away from this stable bond with the ground – the images I create seem to be levitating in the air. My desire to free them from gravity stems from the adventures of my thoughts bordering on irrationality,” comments Andris Vitolins.
