Eglė Kulbytė (ceramics) NERISKOPAI | Augustas Bidlauskas (graphic) AFTER THE MAN

Ceramic technology is one of those capricious ones that has its own whims, whims and often resists the artist in the form of shards, limiting him to the size of the kiln. However, looking at Eglė Kulbytė's works, it seems that she is in perfect harmony with clay, turning it into optical art. These pieces obviously required countless hours of methodical work and discipline. Simple, seemingly unrelated forms connect through the pigment-colored clay material, revealing its various possibilities. However, what pleases me the most in this work is not the young artist's ability to manage technology, but the ability not to get stuck in the material alone, the desire to combine the theoretical base with the study of the material, with a clear and well-formulated idea, actualizing the aesthetics of art in a modern context. I would say that this project is a great example where the theory, let's say Nerikomi technique knowledge and idea become inseparable from execution. The basics of graphic design allowed the artist to find a unique point of view in ceramics, so this Kulbytė project, created using colored clay, expands the boundaries of the Lithuanian ceramic field.

The beginning of Opart art is associated with Victor Vasarely's work Zebras, created back in 1938, later optical art made a huge impression on Lithuanian artists, absolutely changing the creative path of some of them. We can see his traces in the works of many of our famous modernist creators, for example, Birutė Žilytė. Opart also influenced Soviet design, and its use outside of fine arts was even encouraged. Thus, this movement has already taken root in Lithuanian art, so the artist's works have historical predecessors, continuing the tradition, they are even more relevant than they may appear at first glance.

Kulbytė's works work in a similar way to the aforementioned Victor Vasarely's works - you experience an emotional effect at first glance, and it is generally difficult to say much about optical illusions. The works of optical art are designed to act with one effective stroke, but transferring the principles of this art current to ceramics allows you to extend the time of enjoyment - the patterns of the porcelain cylinders are revealed when you walk around them, the surfaces of the ceramics can be touched, and since quite a few works are exhibited, they create mutual dialogues. But still, the opart remains a type of art that works with one blow, unexpectedly, settling in the mind for a long time. /Dr. Aistė Kisarauskaitė/

A. Bidlauskas "After the man"

This exhibition by Augustus Bidlauskas consists of two previously held exhibitions "After the Man" and "So Much of Nature". Bidlauskas is one of the graphic artists of the young generation who does not give up graphics, he persistently works in the mezzotint technique. Mastering the technology gives the artist a special freedom, allows to connect the motifs of historical carvings with current issues. In fact, many of the historical motifs currently circulating can easily be attributed to contemporary pop culture phenomena, for example the story of Barbora Radvilaitė and Žygimantas Augustus. History as a huge tectonic plate of knowledge and at the same time wisdom functions in the present in various forms, it is enough to mention one of the most terrible events of the 21st century. wars - Russia's aggression in Ukraine and Putin's attempts to justify it on the basis of historical maps, which, by the way, can be attributed to graphics sheets.

Bidlauskas does not stay away from geopolitical processes either. In his work, historical costume details and various characters are included in the discourse of modernity, highlighting the questions and problems it raises. The title of the exhibition clearly refers to posthumanist philosophy, but like a good work, it contains more. The classic mezzotint technique serves to connect the historicity and the present, giving graphic prints a specific sophistication. Thanks to her, the Adidas brand - three stripes on clothes, a worn carpet or a colander become parts of a unified story. Although it may seem that pop culture signs are the most important for the artist, they are only a tool for him, just like traditional pop art, which, to put it simply, focused on criticizing everyday consumption.

The lining of criticism, sewn into Bidlauskas' work, is only one of the components of the story, because this garment is made up of many fabrics, and it is given expression by the bodies of living beings. The pockets of such a garment are full of jokes and jokes, the past and the future, where we will no longer be. I would say that this exhibition is a hundred stitches, recalling cannons thundering in the distance, birds flying out in autumn and everyday life in the kitchen, and at the same time it is as elegant as a medieval waistcoat, hand-embroidered by masters. /Dr. Aistė Kisarauskaitė/