LOOK

LV: Jurgis Tarabilda "Recycled Colours" [Izstādes atklāšana]

Drīzumā.

ENG: Jurgis Tarabilda "Recycled Colours" [Exhibition opening]

Gallery Look Presents the Second Exhibition by Lithuanian the Artist Jurgis Tarabilda. On March 30, at 5 pm, the exhibition "Recycled Colours" by Jurgis Tarabilda, one of the most successful Lithuanian artists of the younger generation, will open at the Riga contemporary art gallery Look. The artist is exhibiting in Riga’s Look gallery for the second time, thus extending the cooperation with Vilnius city gallery Meno niša, which represents J. Tarabilda.

Recycled Colours is J. Tarabilda’s seventh solo exhibition, and the works are made using paint leftovers accumulated in the artist’s studio over the last few years, painting on canvas. However, the artist proposes not to call them paintings, adding that the only visible evidence of the artist’s presence is the application of paint with a brush. 

As art critic Rosana Lukauskaitė writes in the exhibition’s annotation, J. Tarabilda’s latest exhibition Recycled Colours invites us to consider his work as a constantly renewing source of energy and explores how recycling can make both ecological and aesthetic sense.

“The question arises whether works similar to color palettes are just reverse reflections of the artwork, or whether they can also become art objects in their own right, with their own meaning and value. This notion of ambiguity creates an interaction between the artwork and the viewer, emphasizing the subjectivity and diversity of art,” says the art critic. “The artist who chooses to question our own fantasy and treatment of the supremacy of art gives new meaning to the leftovers of paint, and what at first appeared to be a simple experiment in color becomes a philosophical metaphor for the limits and possibilities of art, allowing us to explore the essence of art, the process of art-making, and the value of artistic experience.”

J. Tarabilda is a graduate of the sculpture department of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, presenting his work both in Lithuania and abroad. The artist focuses not only on painting but also on photography, video works, and objects, creating a complex and intense field of work. In 2017, J. Tarabilda’s work was awarded the Audience Prize at the Young Painter Prize competition, and in 2020, he was voted the best artist at the ArtVilnius’20 art fair. J. Tarabilda’s works have been acquired by MO Museum and private collectors from Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Israel, the USA, Estonia, and the UK. The gallery representing the artist, Meno niša, has successfully presented his work at contemporary art fairs such as viennacontemporary in Austria, Positions Berlin in Germany, and ArtVilnius in Lithuania.

“I am happy with this collaboration with Look gallery and their trust in me as an artist, as well as for the opportunity to showcase my latest works,” said Tarabilda about the upcoming exhibition. 

According to Diana Stomienė, the director of Vilnius gallery Meno niša, one of the important goals of the gallery is international cooperation, especially between Baltic galleries and artists. “We are very happy to continue our cooperation with Look gallery, where Jurgis’ exhibition Lines and Dots in 2021 was very well received. Continuing the cooperation, last year we also hosted the exhibition The Book of Sand by Latvian artist Jānis Šneiders of Look at Meno niša,” Stomienė said about the cooperation between the Baltic countries, adding that this Riga gallery, which is becoming more and more well-known in Lithuania, also took part in the ArtVilnius art fair for the first time last year.

J. Tarabilda’s exhibition Recycled Colours will be on view at Riga’s Look gallery (Ģertrūdes iela 62A) from March 30 to April 22. The opening of the exhibition will take place on March 30, at 5 pm, during the traditional gallery evening Riga Last Thursdays.