Žilvinas Kempinas
Will represent Lithuania at the 53rd Venice Biennale of International Art
Commissioner Laura Rutkutė, curator Laima Kreivytė.
New York-based Lithuanian artist Žilvinas Kempinas employs videotape as a sculptural material rather than visual data carrier. In his installations invisible forces of gravity and air circulation animate architectural space reshaping it into a totally new environment. His latest work, a large-scale installation TUBE was created in Atelier Calder (Saché, France) and will be set up for the Lithuanian pavilion in Venice to resonate with the environment of the city. TUBE addresses physical and the optical experience of the viewer, passage of time, perception of the body and architecture.
Kempinas has been using magnetic tape since the beginning of this decade to construct monumental yet fragile spaces of experience. Playful gestures and geometric clarity are equally important. His artistic practice is based on recycling the principles of minimal, abstract, op art and kinetic art in the post-medium condition.
“I am attracted to things that are capable of transcending their own banality and materiality to become something else, something more. I like the way that videotape is simultaneously delicate and durable, since it’s meant to last. I can rip it easily with my hands because it’s so thin, but I can also stretch it. Videotape is made to present the world in color, but it appears purely black. It’s supposed to be this safe container of the past, but it is destined to vanish like a dinosaur, to become obsolete, pushed away by new technologies. It’s a familiar mass-produced commodity, but it can be surprisingly sensual and can look almost alive if set in motion. It can be seen as a solid, thick, black line, but it can also disappear right in front of your eyes if it’s turned on its side” (Žilvinas Kempinas in conversation with Veronica Roberts, Museo Magazine).
Žilvinas Kempinas was born in 1969 in Plunge, Lithuania. He lives and works in New York. Solo exhibitions: Kunsthalle Wien, Austria (through January 25, 2009); Grand Café, Saint Nazare, France (2008); Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania (2007); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2006); P.S.1, New York (2003); Spencer Brownstone Gallery, New York (2004, 2006, 2007). Selected group shows: The Immediate Future, Lund Konsthall, Sweden (January 31 – March 29, 2009), Now Jump, Nam June Paik Art Center, Yongin/Seoul, Korea (through February 5, 2009), Manifesta 7, Bolzano (2008); New Work: Zilvinas Kempinas, Alyson Shotz, Mary Temple, SFMOMA (2008); Go East, Museum of Modern Art, Luxembourg (2008). In 2007, Kempinas was awarded the Calder Prize and Atelier Calder residency.
Laura Rutkutė (1974) is a co-founder of Vartai Gallery, coordinator of an international contemporary art project ARTscape in collaboration with “Vilnius – European Capital of Culture 2009″.
Laima Kreivytė (1972) is an art critic and curator based in Vilnius. In 2007, she was part of the curatorial team of Prague Biennale 3. Since June 2007, she has been working as a visual arts projects manager at “Vilnius – European Capital of Culture 2009″.
Lithuanian Pavilion at the 53rd Venice Biennale is principally funded by the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture.
Sponsors of the project:
Sutkienė ir partneriai / IBM / Logotipas
Media sponsor:
Lietuvos rytas
Sponsors of representation:
Danutė and Alain Mallart
For more information please contact:
Vartai Gallery
Vilniaus str. 39
LT-01119 Vilnius, Lithuania
Tel./fax.: +(370 5) 212 2949
E-mail: galerija@galerijavartai.lt
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