Eglė Čėjauskaitė-Gintalė. Oh My
30 October 2024 – 28 February 2025
Eglė Čėjauskaitė-Gintalė is one of Lithuania’s most active middle-generation artists in the field of contemporary jewellery. To date, she has held 20 solo exhibitions in Lithuania, Finland, the UK, Ukraine, and Japan, and has participated in over 100 group exhibitions in the EU and beyond. Her works are featured in the collections of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art and have been presented to the Royal Family of Spain and the Emperor of Japan on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
Setting aside international recognition, Čėjauskaitė-Gintalė first and foremost has a profound connection to Samogitia where she was born and raised and where she studied. The language and history of this land are dear to her heart and have remained her greatest source of inspiration to this day. Usually, one can recognise her work from subtly told Samogitian stories incorporated into objects for the body, and various Samogitian words and antique items that become pieces of jewellery. Not this time, however. Those who think they know Eglė, will be surprised. ‘Ujei’ or ‘oh my’, they might say. This exhibition reveals a new, previously unseen dimension of Čėjauskaitė-Gintalė’s work. There are no poetic or literary features in her latest pieces; instead, they convey the wonder of discovery, a desire to play, and joy that comes from the process when simple forms, such as a silver vertical piece and a length of wire are laid down on a surface forming a design. The wire intertwines with another to create a volumetric shape reminiscent of a basket or a fishing trap, but the artist never imposes her own interpretations on the viewer. The metal shapes join each other forming a silver fabric – a headscarf, a basket, perhaps even a piece of clothing. Silver becomes a tyre, fibre, horsehair, and twists in your eyes taking on shapes. But more importantly, these pieces of jewellery capture the vibrant process of playing with materials and the boundless wonder when infinite possible shape alterations reveal themselves. There is no other way to describe it than with the Samogitian word ujei. Ujei means astonishment and being caught off guard, joy and disappointment, even sadness. This one word contains a multitude of stories that no longer need to be told.
The 7th International Biennial of Jewellery and Metal Art „METALLOPHON: Don’t Tell Me Stories!“, the main exhibition of which will take place at the LNMA Museum of Applied Arts and Design, is accompanied by two solo exhibitions:
- – Eglė Čėjauskaitė-Gintalė „Oh My“
- – Julia Obermaier „Silent Reverie“
- Purchase an e-ticket for this exhibition
- Book a guided tour by phone +370 5 212 1813, +370 5 262 8080
- Plan your visit to the Museum of Applied Arts And Design
3A Arsenalo st, Vilnius, Lithuania
+370 5 212 1813;
+370 5 261 25 48; +370 5 262 80 80.
tddm@lndm.lt
