(AV17) gallery at POSITIONS art fair in Berlin
(AV17) gallery participated at 5th edition POSITIONS art fair in Berlin. POSITIONS art fair together with Berlin Art Week, taking place at the same time, are one of the most important art events in Germany.
(AV17) gallery presented Lithuanian sculptors Nerijus Erminas, Rimantas Milkintas, Mindaugas Junčys and Jonas Aničas works.
Nerijus Erminas is one of the most fascinating creators of conceptual sculpture in Lithuania. His works are characterised by sensitive transformation of reality into surreal and subconscious experiences. With the help of symbols and certain cultural references, the artist uses his works to reveal a number of collective and individual experiences. The objects represent the attributes of the affluence associated with a certain time period, which are joined together with natural materials, such as tree branches, allowing the author to develop multiple meanings. The preeminent feature of Nerijus Erminas is the transformation of furniture panels into different objects, referring to the culture and nature collision.
Nerijus Erminas (1976) is a Lithuanian conceptual artist, graduated with master degree in sculpture from the Vilnius Academy of Arts. The artist has had over fourteen personal shows in Lithuania, and actively participates in group exhibitions in Denmark, Italy, Germany, Latvia, China, Belgium, Italy, etc. He was awarded scholarship for creators of art and culture by Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania in 2012 and 2016. Nerijus Erminas’s artworks were presented in the Lithuanian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2011. Erminas’s artworks are included in the permanent collection of MO museum in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Jonas Anicas’s work is conceptual, multilayered and open to interpretation; it brings the viewers face-to-face with a puzzle based on codes, symbols and references and involves them in solving it. He finds materials for his works in nature and periphery of cities: in the woods, abandoned buildings or deserted, rarely visited places. According to the artist, the things that he finds are part of the rapidly changing identity of the city and its authentic aesthetics. Once they lose their original purpose, these worthless fragments of material reality acquire a new form and become symbols of derelict places, in which they were found. His newest artworks are also designed on the basis of found objects. The artist imparts ritualistic purpose to the found objects without considering their primary functions. These artworks become guardians of the house or other space.
Jonas Anicas (1987) is considered to be a part of the young generation of Lithuanian sculptors. He is a graduate of sculpture studies at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. In 2013 the artist was recognised as the Best Young Lithuanian Artist in the art fair ArtVilnius’13. In 2013 and 2015 he participated at the International biennale of contemporary art ICE – Young Creators of Europe. Jonas Anicas exhibits at different group shows in Lithuania, France, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Latvia etc.
Sculptor Mindaugas Juncys in his work frequently challenges the concept of beauty, kitsch, pop-culture and traditions. The artist portrays everyday household objects by using sumptuous classical sculpture materials, such as marble or bronze. In his work the artist combines different cultural and iconic signs, and questions the case of cultural heritage objects becoming kitsch. Under which conditions such degradation is possible?
Mindaugas Juncys (1977) is a sculptor completing master studies at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. M. Juncys participated in different group exhibitions in Lithuania, Estonia, Germany, Poland, Italy and etc. The artist had four solo shows in Lithuania. He also creates sculptures for public spaces, M. Juncys designed the monuments for Pope John Paul II and Lithuanian actor D. Banionis.
Rimantas Milkintas is sculptor and installation artist whose work is distinguished by a combination of characteristic minimalist aesthetics and kinetic plasticity. Due to focus on the significant form of a work of art and its material properties, creations of the artist are often compared to those of Lithuanian and foreign classics of modernism. However, in continuing the tradition of modern sculpture, especially minimalist aesthetics, Milkintas also successfully develops strategies of postmodern art and the language of conceptualism. His new works are characterised be open construction and motion creation effect in space. The artist opts for veneer, metal and industrial beams, which, in his opinion, reflect our times best.
Rimantas Milkintas (1977) is graduated from the Vilnius Academy of Arts with bachelor and master degrees in sculpture. From 2003 he has been actively working in the art field in Lithuania and abroad: China, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Italy, Denmark, Latvia, etc. R. Milkintas obtained prestigious awards in Lithuania and other countries such as scholarships for creators of art and culture by Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania and prestigious Arnaldo Pomodoro (Italy) third place prize for contemporary sculpture creators. In 2011 the artist received an award for the best sculpture at the international contemporary art fair “ArtVilnius”.
The project was partially supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture.
