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“Portalas,” a continuation of the ongoing train station series (begun in 2017), presents a new collection of paintings. These artworks unfold within and beyond the reality surrounding Vilnius Central Station. The central figure doesn’t merely traverse a passageway; he encounters ghostly remnants of the past, diverse individuals, and digital projections of famous personalities. As A. Makarevičius explains, this gateway can conjure images, sounds, dreams, and even ultimate truths.
A long-time local, contemplating his environment, reflected, “Your image evokes another world; the world, in turn, mirrors you…” This revelation cemented a profound truth: regardless of his focus, the Vilnius station PORTAL would forever remain in his memory.
The portal acts as an alternate form of transportation. Beyond trains and buses, there’s the PORTAL. It conveys memories, objects, and unfamiliar yet instantly recognizable people. It replaces familiar streets with unsettling yet similar counterparts. The continuous repetition of walking down a street perpetually disorients.
This passage has the ability to manipulate time: suddenly, it’s two decades in the past—wide-leg trousers and sweaters over shirts are back. Mustaches reminiscent of a previous generation reappear as fashionable. By altering the timeline, the portal distorts facts and truths, creating new realities.
The portal fascinates: a local observes passersby with a skeptical gaze, their movements following a predictable path. Vehicle noises filter through open windows, mixing or alternating until they clash and fade from sight. Scenes from movies, plays, and online videos replay. One senses a hidden force directing it all. However, signal interference obscures the action,
The public can enjoy this free exhibition until October 30th.
The artist, Andrius Makarevičius, produces pieces brimming with life and expression. His method—layering thick paint with bold brushstrokes—captures the essence of daily existence, forming lively, satirical scenes. His work emphasizes the individual and their relationship with themselves and their surroundings, filled with deep self-reflection. Makarevičius’s paintings depict events in fantastic ways, blending reality with imagination. His figures engage, interact, and communicate, employing humor and irony to depict aspects of the art world and society with great confidence.
At the ArtVilnius’24 contemporary art fair in early October, Makarevičius’ solo presentation at GODÒ galerijas received the judges’ prestigious “TOP 7 GALLERY” award.
In 2005, he graduated from Vilnius Pedagogical University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He joined the Lithuanian Artists’ Union in 2017 and assumed leadership of the LDS painters’ section in 2024. In 2019, he and Inga Mrazauskaite launched the SinThesis Gang initiative.
Makarevičius has over 30 solo exhibitions and has participated in more than 40 group shows. The Lithuanian Council for Culture has twice awarded him an individual grant (2019, 2022).
His art has achieved international recognition, displayed in Lithuania, the United States, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, and Germany.
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Vilnius’s “Portalas”: Where Art Transcends Reality
Andrius Makarevičius presents a new exhibition, “Portalas,” which is more than just a collection of artwork.
Paintings; it’s a captivating encounter. This display, an extension of a project chronicling Vilnius Central Station, immerses viewers in a surreal, multi-faceted world where the ordinary and the extraordinary clash. Imagine a vibrant, painterly dreamscape, energized by nostalgia, technical malfunctions, and sharp social commentary.
The central idea revolves around a “portal”—not a physical passage, but a symbolic space representing the convergence of memory, perception, and truth’s ever-changing nature. This isn’t just a transit hub; it’s a time-warping mechanism that shuffles periods, juxtaposes past and present, and blends the familiar with the unsettling. Picture wide-legged 90s jeans merging with holographic images of historical figures—all against the backdrop of Vilnius Central Station.
Makarevičius skillfully utilizes his signature thick paint application and bold brushstrokes to capture this chaotic beauty. The narrative depicts scenes of unsettling familiarity: streets that are both similar and subtly different, sounds that blend and fade, and an ever-present feeling of a hidden guide meticulously staging the visual disorder. This isn’t merely a depiction of the station; it’s a reflection of our personal experiences, of how memories and perceptions shape our reality.
The “Portalas” lead isn’t so much a character as an observer—a local of the station district—whose contemplation of his environment drives the story. His reflections, “When I look at you, I see another realm; when I see the world, I see you…” encapsulate the exhibition’s core message: the station, the portal, and reality itself are inseparable.
The descriptions suggest a work that is deeply personal yet universally relatable. It explores the ambiguous boundary between subjective experience and objective reality, emphasizing the power of memory and truth’s subjective nature. Furthermore, the use of technology, from holographic projections to implied broadcast interference, denotes commentary on our increasingly technology-driven lives.
With free admission until October 30th, it promises a fascinating and thought-provoking encounter for all. Whether you are a seasoned art aficionado or simply curious, “Portalas” presents an opportunity to explore a realm where art becomes a vehicle for memory, imagination, and the strangely familiar oddity of our perceptions.
Vilnius Central Station Transformed: A Portal to the Past, Present, and Beyond
Andrius Makarevičius’s latest exhibition, “Portalas,” isn’t just an art show; it’s an experience. Continuing his ongoing series exploring Vilnius Central Station, Makarevičius plunges viewers into a surreal, multi-layered reality that blurs the lines between memory, perception, and digital fantasy. Forget mere canvases; this is a portal to another world, cleverly constructed within the familiar confines of the station itself.
The exhibition’s premise is deceptively simple: a central figure navigates a passageway, but this isn’t your average commute. The journey is populated by ghostly apparitions, diverse individuals, and even unexpected digital projections of celebrities – a compelling mix of the tangible and the intangible. As Makarevičius explains, this “gateway” acts as a conduit for images, sounds, dreams, and even, intriguingly, “ultimate truths.”
One local’s reflection perfectly encapsulates the exhibition’s core message: “Your image evokes another world; the world, in turn, mirrors you…” The Vilnius station, transformed into “PORTAL,” becomes a space where the viewer’s perception actively shapes the reality presented. It’s a recursive loop, a testament to the subjective nature of experience.
But “Portalas” is more than just a philosophical statement. It’s a masterclass in manipulating time and space. The portal acts as an unconventional mode of transportation, whisking viewers through decades, past and present merging seamlessly. The jarring juxtaposition of fashion trends – wide-leg trousers and mustaches meeting contemporary styles – highlights the exhibition’s ability to distort timelines and challenge our perception of historical accuracy.
The sensory overload is intentional. The familiar sounds of the city bleed into the unexpected—vehicle noises intertwining with snippets from movies and online videos, creating a cacophony that reflects the chaotic nature of modern life. A constant sense of underlying direction hints at a powerful force at play, yet moments of “signal interference” maintain an air of mystery, leaving the viewer to piece together the narrative.
The exhibition’s free accessibility until October 30th makes it a must-see event. “Portalas” is more than just art; it’s a thought-provoking, sensory experience that demands active participation from the audience. It challenges our understanding of reality and invites us to question the boundaries between the tangible and the intangible, the past, present, and future. It’s a journey not just through the Vilnius Central Station, but through our own perceptions and memories. Highly recommended.
