The exhibition of works by the prominent Germany-based contemporary artists Ingryda Suokaitė (b. 1942) and Roland Helmer (b. 1940), “Abstract – Geometrical – Concrete”

5 September - 17 November 2019. Press conference - 5 September at 11 AM, the opening of the exhibition - 5 PM

Roland Helmer. Between black – yellow to black. Fragment. 2000

The exhibition of works by the prominent Germany-based contemporary artists Ingryda Suokaitė (b. 1942) and Roland Helmer (b. 1940), “Abstract – Geometrical – Concrete”, held in the Vytautas Kasiulis Art Museum, is a part of the exhibition series “Creative Tandems” showcasing the work of artists’ families. The artists have gifted all the pieces displayed in this exhibition to the Lithuanian Art Museum, thus making a valuable addition to its collections of works by Lithuanian artists living abroad.

 

Helmer is a representative of the movement of concrete art widely known in Germany, whose work is based on the precisely calculated construction of colours, lines, forms and planes.The artist asserts that he makes use of “purely formal elements, such as colours and shapes, which do not perform the function of abstracted signs that vividly convey the sense of nature in a painting plane and space, but rather turn into concrete media for transposing the constructive idea of the painting”. His work is inspired by the Bauhaus school, abstractionist artists, Op Art, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. Helmer conducts his artistic explorations in the form of series, using the techniques of painting, graphic art, relief textures, glass and textile art, collages and drawings. He makes serial paintings, and recently has been working on spatial painting compositions. The exhibition includes thirty-two works created between1963 and 2015, among them twenty-two prints (serigraphs), eight painting compositions (created with wax crayons), and one spatial painting.

 

Ingryda Suokaitė. Blue. Fragment. 2018

The artist of Lithuanian descent Ingryda Suokaitė exhibits seventeen of her latest paintings and collages. Having held an exhibition of paintings and prints “The Limits of Colours” two years ago at the Vilnius Picture Gallery, the artist is already familiar to the Lithuanian public from her works characterised by highly refined and clear forms and vibrant colour harmonies. Her chief medium is colour, and as if embodying the thought of her teacherGeorg Meistermann who said that “human life is surrounded by colours”, she puts into practice this concept of the painting language bravely and openly, not leaving any space for nuanced colours. Her works are full of bright colours, contrasts, and highly expressive and dynamic compositional structures, sometimes visualised through the use of collage techniques. Works from the series “Outflowing Forms”, where the main role is played by dynamic colour shapes of optically impetuous forms,are framed or finished with borders – cords. Another group of works titled “Space and Void” is distinguished by minimalist compositions of white tones in predominantly empty spaces, and collage-like highlights of geometrical structures and colours.

 

Suokaitė and Helmer once held an exhibition in Germany, in which her works were described as sonoro(Italian: sonorous, ringing), and those by Helmer – as spiccato(Italian: strong). The visual sound of their works in this exhibition is harmonious and clear, though its intonations are different.

 

Helmer and Suokaitė have exhibited their works in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, USA, France, Spain, Slovakia, Switzerland and elsewhere; their works are held in world’s major museums and galleries as well as private collections.

 

Exhibition curator Nijolė Nevčesauskienė

 

The project is financed by:

       

 

1 Goštauto st, Vilnius, Lithuania
+370 5 261 6764.
kasiulio.muziejus@lndm.lt

See also