Group exhibition
Part of the LT.art Vienna'23 festival “STILL FUN”  in collaboration with AG18 Gallery

EXHIBITION OPENING: 29 AUGUST 2023
EXHIBITION DURATION: 30 AUGUST - 6 SEPTEMBER 2023

AG18 Gallery, Annagasse 18, 1010 Vienna

Opening evening program:
7 - 10 PM: exhibition opening
8 PM: performance "In the Eyes of a Nymph" by Edvinas Mikulskis
8:30 PM: DJ set by Mariah doesn’t Carey

Artists: Julija Skudutytė, Edvinas Mikulskis, Lena Klyukina, Mantas Daujotas
Curator: Ūla Šveikauskaitė

The state of ambivalence can be both an individual's internal struggle and a reflection of the region's situation. Countries of the European corridor, such as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland, face the duality of desiring the prosperity of the West and struggling to let go of the negative influences from the East. Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine triggered the collective trauma in those countries even more, but there are no physical signs of military aggression. Hustle culture, the millennial lifestyle, and being prepared for the worst at the same time are psychologically hard to bear, and as a coping strategy, many young people choose partying and hedonism.

When representing the visual culture of a country that used to belong to a Soviet bloc, it is challenging to avoid clichés such as carpets on walls, brutalist residential buildings, glamorous prison aesthetics, and "squatting slavs in tracksuits. Fetishizing such images makes the region look "exotic," strange, and appealing, but rarely brings different mentalities together. Under the surface of visual artefacts lies an everlasting fate determined by the geographical situation—a constant state in between. Unlike the specific cultural codes from the past, the ambivalence of a good standard of living and anxiety about the future could lead to greater convergence in understanding.

The phenomenon of "in-between" is a common motive in the artists' work, showcased in the exhibition. Edvinas Mikulskis is a painter, make-up artist, and professional pole dancer who uses pole dancing as a medium to challenge the views on masculinity, to question his role between the established "feminine and masculine" categories and to explore where he places the identity of his artistic persona in this spectrum. Painter Julija Skudutytė talks about the worthlessness and usefulness of everyday objects by using a clean and transparent watercolour technique to depict the trash and hoarded items she observes in other people's homes. Next to such bizarre still lives, she also paints herself to reflect her own worth and objectification. The witty self-portrait "Half-Human" by Mantas Daujotas is a humorous, self-ironic reflection, but also an exploration of the struggles of one's identity in challenging times. Lena Klyukina illustrates the surreal states between a dream and reality, scientific themes, and the activities of everyday life blending with an apocalyptic feeling and witty eroticism.

Countries experiencing clashes of cultural tensions often find themselves caught between the privileges of the West and an existential threat. Attempting to replicate a normal life, letting loose, and indulging in treats amidst the fear of the unknown is a familiar experience for many of us, regardless of our cultural origins. Fetishizing the images established in pop culture makes this corridor region look like 'the other.' Looking at it through the lens of the similarities in our psyche could be a better way to start a dialogue. With this exhibition, we aim to create an impact by fostering an ambivalent atmosphere: the tension and contrast between the hedonism of the millennia and the collective anxiousness about the future.

Lena Klyukina

Illustrator and a graphic artist from Vilnius. Has a weakness for precision and details, the unique texture of graphite and natural phenomena. In her works she aims to express the primal and unbridled emotion through strange, engaging, often absurd motives. Currently she creates personal works and for commissions.

Edvinas Mikulskis

Edvinas Mikulskis is an interdisciplinary artist mostly working in the fields of performance and painting. Both his paintings and dance performances approach the topic which for the artist is essential — the identity. The problematic of this subject reveals itself through the logic based on dreams in the painting motives, throughout the expressions of the body and the pole dance art which questions the stereotypical role of masculinity. The artist uses eclectic aesthetics and various approaches towards his creative process, which allows him to leave some space for coincidence and interpretation, to emphasize the importance of the process in his practice.

Julija Skudutytė

Julija Skudutytė is a contemporary artist mostly working in watercolour medium. In 2020 she got her master’s degree in Vilnius Academy of Arts. The same year she became a member of the Lithuanian Artists’ Association. Her main field of research is a relationship between humans and their things —trash. In her paintings Julija mostly depicts interiors from hoarded apartments. Although recently the artist shifted her focus to documentation of everyday trash that surrounds us, she's interested in what makes an object trash and how much value we give to inanimate objects. But the artist doesn’t limit herself to one medium or one field of interest. The painter tries to use any medium for the idea to be fulfilled like an installation, sculpture, animation or video. But through all the different works what stays important to her is absurdity, irony and context.

Mantas Daujotas

Mantas Daujotas (b. 1993) – painter and musician based in Kaunas. As of 2020 a certified master in painting with a couple of personal and several group exhibitions in a short period of time he’s considered a promising young artist. His paintings showcase a wide range of different subjects, although very rarely a human figure. Dark corridors, spaces stuffed with silence and rays of light, carrying a mystical narrative – these are some of the more representative characteristics of Daujotas’ paintings.

LT.art Vienna – is a series of events that presents artists from Lithuania and their works in Vienna, and promotes artistic exchange between Austria and Lithuania.

Supported by AG18 Gallery, MA7, Lithuanian Council for Culture, Embassy of Lithuania in Vienna
Visual identity by Ūla Šveikauskaitė