Irma Balakauskaite
States

prints

27. April - 13. May 2017.

On Thursday, April 27th at 8:30pm was open the exhibition of prints by Lithuanian artist Irma Balakauskaite. She is the winner of the The Graphic Collective Gallery prize at the Second International Printmaking Triennial in Belgrade (2014), and this exhibition is part of the Third International Printmaking Triennial.

The exhibition consists of pieces created during past three years. They are unified by the contemplation of the human-environment relation problem.

"In my works I seek to express my relationship with reality and ponder the internal (spiritual/emotional) states that arise at the junction of this contraposition.I create narratives that express my world-view, represent the sense of the environment within the borders of a chosen symbolic system and express them in a maximally simplified form. In the “mythological reality” that I use as scenography within the 2D format, I try to discover/remember myself by observing the world of my creation.

Working on “States” I sought to harmonize 3 motifs that accompany my works: graphic arts, painting and theatre (puppet theatre), as well as thoroughly maintain the spontaneity and expression of the drawing. Seeking to achieve this goal I have discovered a technique that would not constrain me: drawings in my works are born from a spontaneous hand movement, ingenious etching and ulcerating of the cliché, the achromatic nuances and light emerges when the paint is applied directly to the cliché using a roller, and the element of scenography materializes in the composition by renouncing unnecessary elements and leaving only the symbolic components that are crucial to the rendering of the idea." (from artist's statement)

Irma Balakauskaitė (1968. Kiev, Ukraine), graduated from Vilnius Art Academy (1995), the speciality of painting. Since 1999 she has been a member of the section of graphic arts of the Lithuanian Artists’ Association. Irma works in the spheres of painting, graphic arts, sculpture and scenography. Since 1992 she has participated in various exhibitions in Lithuania and abroad. The artist has organised 14 personal exhibitions in Lithuania. Presently she is living and working in Vilnius.

Interview with Irma Balakauskaitė.