Photos – Gustas Jagminas’ archives ©
The capital’s gallery Meno Niša opens its 17th season with the exhibition of the painter Gustas Jagminas, Elektros gamykla (Electricity Factory). The exhibition opens on August 20 at 6 pm and its theme is – from industry, post-Sovietization to (post)industrial utopias/dystopias.
Elektros Gamykla is the fifth personal exhibition of the abstractionist Gustas Jagminas. The artist graduated from the Vilnius Academy of Arts with a master’s degree in painting and is a member of the Lithuanian Artists’ Association. G. Jagminas’ painting has already been successfully presented at international art fairs by gallery Meno Niša, the artist has participated in over 30 group exhibitions.
Gustas Jagminas. Ledkalnis arba potvynis Nr. 4, 2017 ©
Gustas Jagminas. Motyvas Valkininkuose (Severinė), 2019 ©
Jagminas studied painting with Arvydas Šaltenis, Henrikas Čerapas, Ričardas Nemeikšis, his emotional and sincere painting evokes associations with R.P. Vaitiekūnas’ landscapes, formats and colours are close to Ina Budrytė’s works. According to art critic Viktoras Liutkus, in most of the artist’s works, you can always find a landscape as the main or secondary character. G. Jagminas abstracts the landscape to colour, but at the same time leaves a moment of recognizability. Although the titles of the painter’s works sound decadent and set a tone of romanticism, the works are relevant in the contemporary context and do not lack irony.
Speaking about the exhibition Elektros Gamykla, G. Jagminas said that there had been a time when he used to visit untouched landscapes. “And now I keep circling back to where industrial activity is developing, something has collapsed or is still being built, looking for places where there has been a person and has left (or will leave) some kind of artifacts, or maybe only a deserted wasteland,” the artist says.
Gustas Jagminas. Saulė degina, 2018 ©
Gustas Jagminas. Žalsvas virsta violetiniu (Balninkai), 2019 ©
The concept of the exhibition Elektros Gamykla developed last winter when G. Jagminas painted several post-industrial landscapes, which later formed the painting narrative of several works. “The theme ranges from industry, post-Sovietization to (post)industrial utopias/dystopias. It all stemmed from long walks around cities and suburban wastelands, increasingly rethinking the conflict that is difficult to resolve today: between the unbridled development of Anthropocene, the threat to the diversity of species (and, by the way, to ourselves), and the disturbed climate balance”, Jagminas said as he presented his fifth exhibition.
Gustas Jagminas. Vandens gamykla, 2020 ©
Jagminas’ painting exhibition Elektros Gamykla is a part of the project Art Space for Young Artists implemented by the gallery Meno Niša. The project is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Vilnius City Municipality. This is a continuous art project that has been successfully implemented since 2011 and includes exhibition cycles of young creators, encouraging their initiatives, the continuity of artistic ideas.
The exhibition of Gustas Jagminas Elektros Gamykla in the gallery Meno Niša will take place from August 20 to September 18. The gallery is open II-V 12-6 PM and VI 12-4 PM.
