"FOLLOW YOURSELF" EXHIBITION OF LINAS AND BENAS LIANDZBERGIAI

2024 October 3-31 In the Šiauliai art gallery, the exhibition "Follow yourself" by the father and son duo Lina and Ben Liandzbergia is open.

Exhibition opening on Thursday, October 3, at 5:30 p.m. Šiauliai art gallery. Visiting the exhibition during the opening is free.

ABOUT THE CREATION OF LINAS LIANDZBERGAS

Linas Liandzbergis uses a fixed set of personal photos on his mobile phone for his painting compositions. Photographed moments of the immediate environment, family life and travels painted with graceful lines of colors on black or white canvases become universal signs of personal space. The obvious shift from painting to photography in the current work of Linas Liandzbergis is emphasized both by the negative effect (black background light drawing and vice versa) and the fragmentary composition of the paintings.

The exhibition consists of works that were partly inspired by trips or trips in Lithuania and abroad. The new collection also marks a new direction in the artist's painting. If in the last decade L. Liandzbergis paintings were dominated by pop culture motifs, loud colors, various ironic and playful applications, then in the new works you can observe how the means of language chosen by the author are changing.

Many of the paintings in the new series show the influence of photography and its features: the negative effect achieved by using a black background and a silver-white drawing line, everyday, seemingly random situations captured by a phone camera, searches for fragmentation and instantaneity. In the works, the realistic, visual, documentary aspects that can be seen and recorded in the artist's reality begin to prevail, but the author does not seem to give up the fantastic motifs or paradoxical juxtapositions that are so characteristic of his work.

Linas Liandzbergis (b. 1965) - Vilnius-born painter, creator of performances, actions, installations, scenographies, video art. 1983-1989 studied painting at the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts (at that time - the State Institute of Fine Arts). Since 1989 participates in exhibitions. 1988-1990 participated in the activities of the "Green leaf" group. Since 1999 Member of the Lithuanian Union of Interdisciplinary Art Creators. He is currently teaching at the Lithuanian University of Education. The works have been purchased by private collectors in Lithuania and abroad.

ABOUT THE CREATION OF BENAS LIANDZBERGAS

My art is a mixture of irony and paradox, reflecting the complexity of our world through the eyes of a young artist. Through art, I explore various social issues, question established norms and seek to understand my place in the world. My works are rooted in personal experiences and observations of everyday life. From the art world where artists compete for recognition to questions of identity, social change and the impact of technology on how we think.

Growing up in a country that has only recently regained its independence, I reflect generational differences and the legacy of historical experience in my work. The works often feature architectural elements and other symbols that act as visual memory and context.

In the works, bright colors and contrasts are not just an aesthetic choice. They serve as a hint that a deeper, sometimes even painful truth lies beneath the beautiful surface. I aim to create pieces that first attract attention and then make the viewer think. Depicted objects and people often look like foreign elements, disturbing the usual image, system. In this way, I invite the viewer to question who the outsider really is - the hero of my work, the object or ourselves?

Benas Liandzbergis (born in 1997) – lives and works in Vilnius. 2017-2022 studied at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, Department of Applied Art and Scenography. The artist creates paintings, objects inspired by collective cultural experiences, fashion and fragments of subcultures.

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Dear visitors, when participating in exhibition openings, you do not mind that they can be filmed or photographed, and their photos are published on the Šiauliai Art Gallery’s website, in the media or on social networks.