R-5

What could the name of the exhibition“R-5” mean to the visitors, what kind of symbolic inspirations are hidden under this anagram, which consists of one letter and one number?

„R-5“ – five artists from one family and different generations, who have a lot in common but at the same time being absolutely individual with their own artistic expression, a view of their everyday surroundings, raising different goals for their creativity. Tedious calligraphy, the harmony of lines and spots, artworks full of poetic beauty and together with temporary flair. Everything is temporary, unsustainable in time and space, but at the same time forever-lasting like nature, human sins or the constant searches for goodness and beauty. Beauty is a relative thing, because what is beautiful for one person might be completely different for the other. However, the baltic aesthetics, unique culture of colors, philosophical, cultural and identity ratio, the spreading of positivity, those are the unifying segments of the exhibition.

Jolanta Rudokiene – graphics artist, member of the Lithuanian Artist Union since 2001. Paper and pencil, the two components that help the artist to attract the viewer to the world of art, in which stone, newspaper origami and folded paper sheets create a strange illusion. Looking at the minimalist composition artworks the viewer might unnoticeably enters a state of creativity and feel like Alice in Wonderland, where completely different things lie beyond the visible shape. Everything would seem clear – a crane shape crafted from an old newspaper, a wall from a room that’s falling apart, an old time picture that has been repainted…. But is everything we see so plainly read and treated? Maybe the information is hiding inside, and the viewer is granted the ability to reveal the paper crane, to rebuild the information hidden among stones, changing the minimal and laconic rhythm to an absolutely different visual code? Or just enjoy the painting in a calm, chamber environment and enjoy the silence, meditate in front of a white paper sheet and try to read the message from the author: “A specific artwork is a shell of thoughts, which can directly reveal or hide them. The viewer, depending on his inner senses, can read the message sent to him or just walk past it. ”

Girmantas Rudokas – painter, member of the Lithuanian Artist Union since 1995. The last three-four years have been very succesful for the author. Winner of the 2014 and 2016 International watercolor biennial  “Bridges of Baltics”. Watercolor is a technique which the author greatly masters and senses. It looks like water, pigmentation and paper pressures the artist into particular frames, limiting him in the “technique” and format. Naturally, a question arises – what else can you create differently with traditional tools in XXI age? Is it possible to surprise a whimsical art evaluator or a regular gallery visitor? You will find the answer in Girmantas’s watercolors. A see-through, usually “one layered” watercolor spreads light. Stitched “shot” in different rhythm stiches it strengthens the emotional effect and steals the attention. Every centimeter of the sheet of paper is “doomed” for needle and thread invasion. It affects the viewer’s sight area, changes the structure of the artwork, transforms the planar view to a minimalistic 3D dimension. Stitched thread “throws a net”, creates a visual barrier between the view and the viewer, unleashes strange or unusual to the eye ornaments, fulfills the extent of the picture, expands the artworks’ understanding borders. To present the traditions untraditionally is the motto of the watercolorist Girmantas Rudokas.

Marija Rudokaite – got a bachelors degree from Vilnius Art Academy. The young artist is representing herself with a bachelor’s textile graphic artwork “Gora gora”. In the large format artworks the author knowingly combined two techniques – textile and graphics. In 2014 the searches of her identity took her to India. As the artist says, she arrived to a whole different world where there was no space for european traditions. Friction in the crowd, scent and color variety, food and etiquette abundance, pace of life and problems are different than at home. Cardinal changes of environment gave a particular impulse of creativity which is revealed in Marija’s artworks.  Indian silk, its ornaments, sparkle of gold harmoniously united with abstract prints of graphics on lithuanian canvas. The harmony of grey shades, overglow of different volumes from one shape to another, minimal figuratives like in a mirror, creating a weird illusion of a world which is framed by a bright and sparkly material. Two merged together different chromatic – texture desicions resembles like YING and YANG signs, revealing the eternal fighting and harmony moods. The author leaves the viewer to decide if it wants to enter her under construction world, change its’ safe environment and the predictable route or to turn to another road.

Diana Rudokiene – painter, member of the Lithuanian Artist Union since 2001. Identity – objects‘ equality for yourself or another object. This description of identity in the contemporary lithuanian dictionary would look pretty clear, laconic and truthful. But in our current post-modern environment, where a thinking individual is asking himself questions daily such as – who am I, what am I doing, why am I doing this – there‘s only one correct answer…? The identity is multifunctional and complex. It consists of spheres that interfere with each other and where there can exist not only different, but also elements opposing to each other. Often the identity is determined not only by how you comprehend yourself, but also how others understand you. Diana Rudokiene lets the viewer in to her created woman‘s identity world, also inducing a tiny artistic – social provocation, like she would invite us to search for answers about your identity. The majority of her pictures‘ main role is played by a  w o m a n. Not overloaded with color pictures, plain composition, calm shape angle of approach, everything translates a piece of news to the viewer – come and see the fragile young creature, existing in a parallel universe, forget your daily routine, drown in the depth of womens eyes… Although, a more observant viewer will notice more: a deep and a mysterious woman‘s look, spilled tea, naked tree silhouettes, a hanging bloom of a flower, like in space – those are symbols, details, creating a different woman‘s “micro space”, her enchanting mysterious world.

Tomas Rudokas – graphics artist, member of the Lithuanian Artist Union since 1999. The chairman of Lithuanian Artist Union, manager of the gallery “GALERIJA-XX”. Recently the author is trying to conjoin folk ornament symbols with XX and XXI century news. Ornaments take part as decor and minimalistic symbols in his artworks. The variety of triangles, squares, lines mingles into closed shapes, which are diversified by portraits or other objects which are important for the artist. He wants to give the viewer an opportunity to get acquainted with the old, archaic baltic ornaments and their usage abilites in an artistic context. You will not find traditional painting in his paintings, there‘s practically none. The author does not wander far off from graphical expression, because everything that he shows in this exhibition is a painting colored by acrylic. Bright colored spots, often a static composition and symmetrical ornaments are dominating in his artworks. The goal of Tomas Rudokas is to present the artefacts of the past throught a bit different, contemporary prism. This is why in the majority of his works have deep textured elements, fragments of cannabis rope and portraits of famous people for the past hundred years. You should look at this cycle of pictures as a game with the past, while “here and now” still exists. This game has no rules. Only the viewer will determine if he will see only a plain sight, or will look to one or another picture and be able to come back to his childhood memories and transcend into a personal world of illusions.

Someone had said that it is important not to lie in creativity. This phrase can also describe the“R-5” exhibition. We are inviting the visitors to be guests. Take a look, discuss, take or give, but most importantly – be “here and now”.

The curator of the exhibition Tomas Rudokas