Page 45 - La Biennale di Venezia issue of World of Art Magazine

LATVIA
Saules Suns
SAULES SUNS, 2019 (FRAGMENT Commissioner: Dace Vilsone.
OF INSTALLATION), PHOTOGRAPHY: Curators: Valentinas Klimašauskas, Inga Läce.
TOAN VU-HUU ©COURTESY: GALERIE Exhibitor: Daiga Grantna.
JOSEPH TANG
Venue: Arsenale

The Latvian Pavilion at the Biennale Arte 2019 will present a new
site-specific installation by the artist Daiga Grantina Saules Suns,
which is jointly curated by Inga Lace and Valentinas Klimašauskas.
In her practice, Daiga Grantina uses a wide range of everyday
materials, from the synthetic to the organic, often inverting and
trespassing beyond the limits of their traditional uses, creating
associative formations that direct the view in manifold ways
both secluding and revealing. The source of inspiration for the
installation is the notion of light and simultaneity. Saules Suns is a
multi-centred landscape that unfolds around several suns, several
sources of light traversing manifold materials and shapes. As if
the scene of some cosmological dawn, it opens itself up as a site
and moment for the generation of possibilities. Our sense of these
possibilities is strengthened by the multitude of potential paths and
perspectives through the installation. She bends metal into spirals,
casts light into shadow, fluffs cotton into fuchsia purple blossoms.
However, the piece is not about the materials themselves, but
with the help of these elements something is expressed. Through
her own unique manner of expression, her language, the artist
communicates and shapes the world offering alternatives to the
current state of affairs. (excerpt)

LITHUANIA
Sun & Sea (Marina)
SUN AND SEA Commissioner: Rasa Antanavicıute.
(PHOTO BY NEON Curator: Lucia Pietroiusti.
REALISM Exhibitors: Lina Lapelyte, Vaiva Grainyte and Rugile Barzdziukaite.
Venue: Magazzino No. 42, Marina Militare, Arsenale di Venezia, Fondamenta Case Nuove 2738c

In the unique setting of the Marina Militare, located adjacent to
the Arsenale, and which until now has never previously been
used during the Biennale Arte, artists Rugile Barzdžiukaite,
Vaiva Grainyte and Lina Lapelyte present a duration al opera
performance, Sun & Sea (Marina). While initially appearing
light-hearted, this highly innovative take on the operatic form -
described as “counter-monumental” and “anti-baroque theatre”
- addresses some of the most pressing ecological issues of
our time. Presented by Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of
Arts, Sun & Sea (Marina) is curated by Lucia Pietroiusti, Curator
of General Ecology and Live Programmes at the Serpentine
Galleries, London.
With a bird’s-eye view of the performance from a mezzanine
gallery above the stage, audiences look down on the assembled
characters who appear as a typical group of holiday-goers, of
varying ages, Miles Evans PR Ltd from different walks of life,
attired in colorful bathing suits and sunbathing under the full
glare of the sun over a mosaic of towels. Surveying this fleshy
tableau vivant from their sun-like vantage point, audiences
observe the frailty of the human condition. (excerpt)

WORLD of ART 45