The artist Rachel Libeskind, who won the prize for the best young artist (under 35 years old) this year, stood out for her original idea and deep conceptual layers. She was appreciated for the painting Upside Down Window.
According to S.Baliuckaitė, the artist presented in Vilnius by the Düsseldorf gallery “wildpalms” reflects the tendency of modern society to increasingly see the world through phone or computer screens, instead of directly experiencing the environment.
ArtVilnius’24 Opening ceremony. R. Zemkauskas, D. Somiene, I. Norkus” rel=”content-image” src=”https://s1.15min.lt/static/cache/NjcweCwsMTE3NDAwOCxvcmlnaW5hbCwsaWQ9OTc5MjY0OCZkYXRlPTIwMjQlMkYxMCUyRjE4LDc3OTE2MzEwNQ==/artvilnius24-atidarymo-ceremonija-rzemkauskas-dsomiene-inorkus-67122806d233a.jpg” style=”width: auto; height: auto;”/>
Photo by Gabrieliaus Jauniškis/ArtVilnius’24 Opening ceremony. R. Zemkauskas, D. Somiene, I. Norkus
“This work raises questions about the ways of perceiving reality and our relationship with the virtual world, which is especially relevant in the current digital era. Work is very important in today’s art world,” she says.
One of the smallest earned the most
R. Libeskind’s “Upside Down Window” is one of her “Windows” series, which are designed as paintings, but made using polyvinyl chloride (PVC), latex and sheets of projection film. In creating this series of works, the artist explored her archive of window images published in various media.
The series of works “Windows” also includes large-scale works, but at the fair “ArtVilnius’24” her award-winning painting “Upside Down Window” is one of the smallest, measuring just 35 x 30 x 4 cm.
“The game in a small format opened up new ways of perceiving images and links: on mobile phones or computers we can turn images upside down, rotate them in different directions, this is impossible in the real world,” says R.Libeskind.
Photo by Andrej Vasilenko/Wildpalms
The artist said that the concept of window is used in her work to reveal how technology mediates our experience of reality. The prophetic notion of paintings as windows to other worlds resonates even more today, when screens have become our primary portals of information and communication.
“Fundamentally, this series embodies the fusion of artistic pursuits and architectural influences, reflecting a shared commitment to pushing boundaries and redefining media.” By integrating these elements, “Windows” aims to engage viewers in a dialogue about perception, reality, the ever-changing relationship between humans and the spaces we live in,” says the artist.
The influence of living in a big city
R.Libeskind was born in Milan, grew up in Berlin, and received his education at Harvard University, USA, where he graduated with honors in visual sciences. Currently, the artist lives and creates in New York and Berlin.
Living in New York, the artist draws inspiration from both the fast pace of the city and the social constructions of the environment.
Constantly expanding the boundaries of accessible media, artist R.Libeskind creates works inspired by personal and social themes, intelligently combining the concepts of historical and contemporary identities, gender, appropriation and reproduction. In her work, the social aspect and materiality organically merge, creating a deep reflection on the current reality.
Special prize
The winner of the nomination of the best young artist at the international contemporary art fair “ArtVilnius” is awarded a prize, which is awarded for the twelfth year in a row by the patron of the fair – law firm COBALT.
The winner was chosen by an international commission – art historian, critic, curator of exhibitions, professor of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, the first artistic director of “ArtVilnius” (until 2013), prof. Dr. Raminta Jurėnaitė, curator of exhibitions, writer, director of the private art center “Kohta” in Helsinki founded on the initiative of artists Andersas Kreugeris (Sweden), author of books, curator, who organized 98 exhibitions on 4 continents, dr. Pacco Baraganas (Spain), one of the managers of the Index Foundation, Marti Manenas (Sweden), collector, patron of art, general director of outdoor advertising company JCDecaux Lietuva, Žaneta Fomova.
The highlight of the jubilee, 15th art fair “ArtVilnius’24” is “Northern Europe”. This year, 67 contemporary art galleries and 15 art institutions from 14 countries of the world were selected for the fair. Guest artists from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, France, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Poland, Belgium, USA and other countries participated.
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