Continuing the representation of Lithuanian artists abroad, the gallery (AV17) will participate in the VOLTA NY art fair for the second time, where on May 17-21 it will be showcasing the exceptional work of sculptor Mindaugas Junčys.
Photos – courtesy of Mindaugas Junčys © Mindaugas Junčys, Beauty, 2008.
The VOLTA Art Fair primarily took place in Basel in 2005 and, soon after, was launched in New York City in 2008. Every year, VOLTA NY presents over 50 galleries that showcase both well-established and emerging artists from around the world. Participating galleries are encouraged to present a single artist, which provides a more extensive view of their work and helps to maintain the curatorial coherence of the international art platform.
This year, the gallery is presenting the works of sculptor Mindaugas Junčys, who questions notions of beauty, kitsch, popular culture, and tradition. By addressing these categories, the artist rethinks the meaning of the artwork and the duality of the human inner world within the contemporary context. The artist uses materials usually associated with classical sculpture, such as marble, granite, or bronze, and gives them the shape of everyday objects. In this way, the artist raises one of the main questions that often echoes in his work – how an object taken from cultural heritage becomes an object of kitsch, and vice versa – how an object of kitsch becomes part of the culture. Junčys’s works turn into metaphors, revealing the problematic nature of changing values in contemporary society.
Mindaugas Junčys, Saint, 2020.
Mindaugas Junčys (b. 1977) is a Lithuanian sculptor, living and working in Vilnius. He graduated from Vilnius Academy of Arts with M.A. in sculpture. Since 1996, he actively takes part in group and personal exhibitions and art projects both in his home country and abroad. The sculptor also created works for public spaces such as monuments for Pope John Paul II, Lithuanian actor Donatas Banionis, and other significant personalities. The works of the artist are part of private collections in Italy, Germany, and Lithuania.
Mindaugas Junčys, Aureole, 2022.
VOLTA NY Art Fair
Gallery (AV17) booth C4
2023, May 17 – 21.
125 West 18th Street, New York, JAV
The project is partly supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Vilnius City Municipality
