Dirsytė-Urbonienė (born in 1998) is a painter who completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in painting at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Through her multi-layered paintings and spatial objects, she transforms fragments of reality into symbols. Her rethinking and reimagining of these details in her works is an attempt to create new forms of perception without overlooking small large events.
“We selected Raminta’s exhibition project because of her exceptional ability to convey subtle states and images imbued with personal experiences through her paintings. Her work combines conceptual thinking with a sensitive, multilayered visual language that invites viewers to pause and look closely. Raminta’s exhibition fits naturally into the gallery’s program, which aims to present exhibitions by young artists that are particularly relevant today,” said gallery director Diana Stomienė.
In the exhibition Delayed, the artist presents a collection of works centered on elements of the local landscape and symbolic gestures that reflect a fragmented existence and the search for security.
“I don’t feel that we live in a coherent narrative. It seems to me that such a thing no longer exists. One event follows another fragmentarily and unexpectedly. A new version of the world catches us unprepared each day. I want to blame speed, but I myself succumb to its power – a new sequence of events formed from restless thoughts and a tireless body. The body moves from doubt to security, seeking shelter,” said the artist R. Dirsytė-Urbonienė.
The artist claims that painting is too slow for current events but slow enough for events that happened long ago. “In the exhibition, the images are suspended in a state of transformation, and the time spent observing them is extended until they maintain a relationship with the viewer. This is yet another event that suspends the sense of transience that travels through the body, if only for a moment of perception. However, upon closer inspection, the structures of the images become clearer, and it becomes apparent why the images are so familiar. Perhaps they are not temporary but have long existed beyond time.”
The Meno Niša gallery exhibition is complemented by new creative collaborations. The architect of the exhibition, Algimantas Urbonas, responds to the works and the desire to pause the viewer’s fleeting gaze by providing a spatial “shelter”.
“When thinking about the space of Meno Niša, I aim to create more spatial dynamics. In response to the exhibition’s theme, I create “niches” to give viewers the opportunity to wander the gallery and discover the works. One of the works is installed in an arch constructed by Tauras Kensminas that replicates the size of the opening connecting the two gallery spaces. This gesture emphasizes the connections and intertwining of space and works,” said Urbonas.
M. Dirsytė-Urbonienė’s third solo exhibition, Delayed, is part of the Open Call project of the Art Space for Young Artists program at the Meno Niša gallery.
Exhibition architect: Algimantas Urbonas
Graphic design: Dominyka Gurskaitė
Artist thanks to: gallery’s team, Tauras Kensminas and Ieva Gražytė
The Meno Niša gallery in Vilnius is sponsored by the Vilnius City Municipality
The exhibition is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture
