JŪRATĖ PETRUŠKEVIČIENĖ
RINKOTAS

The collections of mini textile “Herbarium of Rinkoto” and “Out of Water” presented here were exposed in Bratislava Slovakia, by the invitation of Slovak Textile Artists Association TXT. The works were displayed also in Berlin, Germany and Lithuania.

“Herbarium of Rinkoto” is about the world of plants originated in Rinkoto forest reserve. Rare protected plants grow there. Rinkoto is not large, but very old. It is situated near one of three biggest Lithuania lakes called Dusia. For many years I spend my summer holidays in this place. Shibori technique inspirated me and allowed to realize these various forms, structures and shapes.

Water world is mysterious and rich. Fauna and flora, various findings, weathered in water – I created all these forms and structures in shibori technique.

I have been working in shibori since 1999, when I participated in VIII ETN conference in Rovaniemi, Finland. There I attended Patricia Black’s workshop and got acquainted with shibori. I always mention Patricia’s name with love and respect when talking about shibori.

                                                                                                      Jurate Petruskeviciene

GIEDRĖ KRIAUČIONYTĖ
ROUTINE

ROUTINE causes various – positive and negative – associations.

ROUTINE can be both boring and enjoyable.

ROUTINE – inculcated, enforced, or self-created habits which are often performed automatically and quickly dissolve in daily life.

ROUTINE can help fulfill desires.

ROUTINE may help create interesting and beautiful things.

ROUTINE is inseparable from repetition, templating, monotonous rhythm and homogeneous color.

ROUTINE images were intuitively dictated.

ROUTINE’s multidimensionality was conveyed through associative images, symbols and metaphors.

ROUTINE is a powerful thing leading to fulfillment.

LIUCIJA JŪRATĖ KRYŽEVIČIENĖ-HUTCHEON
DIFFERENT EXPRESSIONS OF TIME

In her 15th personal exhibition “Different Expressions of Time”, Liucija Jūratė Kryževičienė-Hutcheon presents textile works of her last creative period, which are filled with modernity, glittering colours and metallic lustre. Contemporary-looking works did not appear out of nowhere. They were inspired by deep folk art traditions, mysterious archaic heritage, ethnographic elements of textile, materials and the possibilities for colour expression. In the artist’s creations, forms and symbolism of Nordic runes are transformed into an effective visual sign that attracts spectators with a contemporary expression, deep connection to the Baltic tradition, unexpected interpretations of thought, and the potentiality of applying these works for the interior.

The works of Liucija Jūratė Kryževičienė-Hutcheon are characterized by a continuous change; there were a lot of turns in her path. The beginning of the creative career of an artist who finished her textile studies at the Lithuanian Art Institute in the mid-1960s did not differ from that of other Lithuanian textile artists. She had to pay tribute to textile design. For about twenty years, she worked as an artist in Lentvaris Carpet Factory, and determined the Lithuanian textile design. For a change, she designed tapestries and batik, which were popular at that time; composed monumental compositions for public interiors, and improvised textile miniatures. After Lithuania regained its Independence, Liucija Jūratė Kryževičienė-Hutcheon found a new creative niche, i.e. painting in watercolour, creating monotypes and experimental works from wire and non-traditional textile materials. In 1991-1996, being the Head of the Textile Section of the Lithuanian Artists’ Union, together with like-minded people, she started organizing international textile miniature biennials in Vilnius and organized exhibitions of Lithuanian tapestry in France and America.

The real breakthrough in the creation of L. J. Kryževičienė-Hutcheon occurred around 2000, when she left for America and lived there for almost twelve years. America’s metropolitan culture, Chicago’s skyscrapers, whose windows reflect the world at large – the flashes of sunrays, the seasons that change Nature, and dynamic cityscape made an indelible impression. New life encouraged her to search for an innovative artistic word – not narrative, but expressive and effective, creating an instant impression, eye-catching, capable of speaking in the language of form, silhouette, material.

This exhibition illustrates the changes that have taken place in the artist’s creativity over the last twenty years and reveal a marked shift from specificity to abstraction, from greyness to flamboyancy. It is bright textile that breaks stereotypes. To create the impression of image dematerialization and spaciousness, from the strips of the silk fabric of different textures as if from textile filaments, the artist seems to be weaving architectonic paintings. These paintings cause an intrigue by the relation between the traditional textile techniques and the unrealistic image that the textile artist manages to create by choosing the fabric that symbolizes a future material. As if it were not textile but a piece of metal. Sometimes, L. J. Kryzhevichiene-Hutcheon’s compositions are monochromatic, with subtle shades of brown, silver or purple. Sometimes, they sparkle with intense combinations of black and red, green and blue. The author combines glossy satin with matte fabric and uses nuances of illumination so that these textile paintings look different every time they are differently illuminated. The works of L. J. Kryževičienė-Hutcheon confirm that simplicity conceals a great power. The exhibited textile works are characterized by their meditative nature, mystery and architectonics of the composition. Abstract shapes are emotional because of the impact of the eminence of the creations, the unusual silhouettes, the harmony of shapes and the rhythm of the lines.

The artist, who is never short of ideas, is an active participant of group exhibitions and a member of both Lithuanian and international creative organizations. She has organized fourteen personal exhibitions. The artist’s works were awarded Honorary Diplomas of the Lithuanian Artists’ Union in 1997, 2010;  a Diploma of the Teofilis Petraitis’ Prize Competition in 2006 and the 2nd prize in 2008. In 2015, the artist’s miniatures won the main prize at the International Textile Miniatures Biennial “Out of the Box”.

Lijana Šatavičiūtė-Natalevičienė