Marija Šnipaitė The Night Is Too Long

Marija Šnipaitė
The Night Is Too Long

March 20 —
May 11, 2024

LOCATION
RAVNIKAR GALLERY
Vošnjakova ulica 4
1000 Ljubljana

CURATOR
(AV17)

PHOTOGRAPHER
Mario Zupanov

STATEMENT

A hand snuggles in a pocket after it loses a glove. Touched by the moment’s carelessness, the glove settles for a long time in a random place, and from there waves with several of its fingers. It is not clear whether it is beckoning the passer-by onwards or pointing in the direction of the passage. Eventually, I discovered that my feet won't get wet in the puddle, and the wind won't blow the needles away. In the time it took for the night to shrink into the eye, inner pocket turned inside out.

In 'The Night Is Too Long', Marija Šnipaitė creates a landscape that serves as a backdrop for exploring the theme of clothing fragments as a continuation of the human body and sensibility. The artist views the elements of clothing as spaces, territories and forms. Different parts of garments here are transformed into sculptural objects, losing their original function and becoming reincarnated into other roles. The exhibition itself is designed as a walk, where these elements — as if they were lost and left behind — blend seamlessly with the fragments of the landscape. The encountered objects reveal a multifaceted use of techniques, materials and textures, which are assembled into an exhibition that feels like a cohesive large-scale drawing, with the sculptures serving as vibrant spots of colour. The atmosphere created by 'The Night Is Too Long' distorts the usual passage of time and immerses the viewer in a minimalist, meditative space.

The artist is characterised by her consistently abstracted sculptural language, associative thinking and attention to materiality. Marija Šnipaitė is constantly testing the limits of sculpture by reconstructing space or combining found objects and fragile and durable materials. The artist’s creative process is based on the search for connections and the observation of the environment. Often her works do not have a final form – motifs, materials, or elements from one work can be reconstructed to appear in another. Such a transition from one work to another emphasises the continuity of Marija Šnipaitė’s work, the integrity of her creative process and the continuation of her ideological foundation.

Marija Šnipaitė (b. 1988) is a young-generation artist. In 2014, she graduated from the Vilnius Academy of Arts with a Master’s degree in Sculpture. In 2010 she had a traineeship at the Stuttgart Academy of Arts, Germany. Since 2016, she has been a member of the Lithuanian Association of Interdisciplinary Artists. Since 2011, she has been participating in exhibitions in Lithuania and abroad, presenting her sculptures in public space. Her work has been awarded several individual scholarships from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania for art and culture creators.

The exhibition is a part of international exchange project between RAVNIKAR and Lithuanian gallery (AV17) that exclusively exhibits contemporary object, sculpture and installation art.

The project is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture.

   Roka se privija v žep, potem ko izgubi rokavico. Dotaknjena s strani hipne neprevidnosti, rokavica za dolgo časa obmiruje na naključnem mestu. Od tod maha s svojimi številnimi prsti. Ni jasno, ali mimoidočega vabi naprej ali kaže v že prehojeni smeri. Sčasoma sem ugotovila, da si v luži ne bom zmočila nog in veter ne bo odnašal iglic. V času, ko se je noč skrčila v oko, se je notranji žep obrnil navzven.

   Znotraj razstave 'Noč je predolga' Marija Šnipaitė ustvarja krajino, ki služi kot izhodišče za raziskovanje teme fragmentov oblačil kot podaljškov človekovega telesa in njegove občutljivosti. Umetnica elemente obleke dojema z vidika prostora, teritorijev in oblik. Različne dele oblačil preobraža v kiparske objekte, ki jim odvzema njihovo prvotno funkcijo in vanje vnaša nove vloge. V prostoru, zasnovanem v obliki sprehoda, se omenjeni elementi — kot bi bili izgubljeni in (za)puščeni — neopazno zlivajo s fragmenti razstavne pokrajine. Predmeti, ki jih srečamo na poti, razkrivajo večplastno uporabo tehnik, materialov in tekstur. V razstavo se umeščajo tako, da celota deluje kot enovita risba velikega merila, ki jo sooblikujejo živahne barvne točke v obliki skulptur. Atmosfera, ki jo ustvarja umetnica, izkrivlja običajno minevanje časa in gledalca potaplja v minimalističen, meditativen prostor.

   Umetnica je znana po svojem doslednem abstrahiranem kiparskem jeziku, asociativnem mišljenju in pozornosti do materialnosti. Marija Šnipaitė nenehno preizkuša meje kiparstva z rekonstrukcijo prostora ali kombiniranjem najdenih predmetov ter krhkih in obstojnih materialov. Njen ustvarjalni proces temelji na iskanju povezav ob opazovanju okolja. Delom končna oblika pogosto umanjka, saj je motive, materiale ali elemente iz enega dela mogoče rekonstruirati v drugega. Takšni prehodi med deli poudarjajo kontinuiteto v ustvarjanju in idejni podlagi Marije Šnipaitė ter enovitost njenega ustvarjalnega procesa.

Marija Šnipaitė (1988) je umetnica mlajše generacije. Leta 2014 je na Akademiji za umetnost v Vilni magistrirala iz kiparstva. Med študijem je 2010 opravljala prakso na Akademiji za umetnost v Stuttgartu. Od 2011 naprej se predstavlja na razstavah v Litvi in tujini, svoje skulpture pa umešča v javni prostor. Od 2016 pa je članica litovskega združenja interdisciplinarnih umetnikov. Za svoje delo je bila nagrajena z več individualnimi štipendijami Ministrstva za kulturo Republike Litve, namenjenimi umetniškim in kulturnim ustvarjalcem.

Razstava je del mednarodnega projekta izmenjave med galerijo RAVNIKAR in galerijo (AV17), znotraj katere galeriji razstavljata izključno sodobne umetniške objekte, kiparstvo in instalacijo.

Projekt podpira Litovski svet za kulturo.