Museum of Applied Arts and Design of the LNMA opens International Biennial of Contemporary Jewellery and Metal Art
October, Wednesday, at 5.30 pm the Museum of Applied Arts and Design of the LNMA opens the biggest contemporary jewellery event in Lithuania – the 7th International Biennial of Contemporary Jewellery and Metal Art METALLOphone: Don’t Tell Me Stories! The Biennial is accompanied by two solo exhibitions: Oh, My by Eglė Čėjauskaitė-Gintalė at the Museum of Applied Arts and Design, and Silent Reverie by Julia Obermaier at the gallery Vilnensis. The exhibitions at the museum are on through 28 February, 2025, Silent Reverie runs through 6 December, 2025.
“This year, subtle bridges of jewellery have been crafted by the curator Dr Jurgita Ludavičienė: resting on the piles of several exhibitions, they connect Lithuania with the world. The artwork of Lithuanian jewellers showcased as part of the ongoing Season of Lithuania in France tell the story of independent Lithuania and the world outlook of Lithuanians whereas in Vilnius, the opening biennial METALLOphone, invites to experience the world and art of the artists from 30 countries. It is enthusing that the Museum of Applied Arts and Design again becomes a vibrant, brimming with resourcefulness international stage for the art of jewellery,” Dr Arūnas Gelūnas, director general of the LNMA says.
“The biennial METALLOphone is a very important occasion to enlighten Lithuanian audience on the art of jewellery and metal by bringing into focus its unique beauty. It is an opportunity to see the work of the leading representatives from other countries, the Lithuanian jewellery and metal artists get chance to see themselves in an international context. This edition, the second time in the history of the event, is expanded by solo exhibitions of one Lithuanian and one foreign artist. The theme of the event “don’t tell me stories” is a provocation to the artists and viewers alike, inviting to speak about the uniqueness of jewellery,” curator of biennial Jurgita Ludavičienė speaks about the vision of the event.
One hundred-thirty artists who tell things that matter
Quoting the curator, at the times of a surge of story-telling, pieces of jewellery art can get to the essence without words: “Story-telling is often excessive, enforced, artificial, it ruins and strangle – while jewellery has so many things that exist outsides stories, and create value and experience on their own. Minerals and stones, materials that require human body and human touch, forms natural and designed catch the eye and ask for no explanation, they are perceived without words. How vast is the difference between providing a context enhancing perception and artificial narratives that entangle like strings of empty words.” Pieces of jewellery transport meaning by images, objects, by different kinds of material. The artists who present their artwork, are indirectly arguing, teasing, also in hope also that the viewers will read their works as their own stories.
The 7th International Biennial of Contemporary Jewellery and Metal Art METALLOphone: Don’t Tell Me Stories! encourages 130 artists from 30 countries to tell us only the things of substance – things beyond words. The provocations by the artists and the biennial will invite the audience to experience and feel their art, instead of trying to understanding it.
WOW moments in Eglė Čėjauskaitė-Gintalė’s jewellery pieces
Together with 7th International Biennial of Contemporary Jewellery and Metal Art METALLOphone, the Museum of Applied Arts and Design of the LNMA hosts and opens a solo exhibit Oh, My by the jewellery artist Eglė Čėjauskaitė-Gintalė. The female artist’s signature style is usually recognized by subtle Samogitian narratives “told” by objects for the body, by Samogitian words, as well as ancient articles-turned-into ornaments, but Ujei reveals a new facet of her art.
“Those who assume they know Eglė’s artwork will be surprised. Her most recent pieces have no narrative or poetic dimension – but the excitement of discovery and playfulness,” curator Ludavičienė explains.
“The artist’s jewellery captures the process and life, it is about having fun with materials, and the awe of the bottomless metamorphoses of shapes. It can be best expressed by the Samogitian word “ujei” – “Oh, My”. One short word stands for numerous stories one can leave untold.”
The artist has held 20 solo exhibitions in Lithuania, Finland, the UK, Ukraine, and Japan, and has participated in over 100 group exhibitions in Europe and beyond. The works of the internationally established artist 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.
Virtuoso craftsmanship of Julia Obermaier
From 30 October the gallery Vilnensis hosts an exhibition Silent Reverie featuring the artwork of Julia Obermaier, German jewellery artist and winner of international jewellery competitions. Gemstones are her material of choice. According to the exhibition curator Ludavičienė, her artistic manner is possibly influenced by her studies at the Department of Idar-Oberstein (University of Applied Sciences in Trier) famed by its unique in the world courses in gemstone and jewellery.
“However, Obermaier’s objects conceptually are rather distanced from traditional ornaments even though we can see nothing radical in terms of form. Formally loyal to the tradition, Obermaier is guided by her intuition, hers is a tender touch. She does not seek to shock or surprize, but evoke something semi-forgotten. For instance, erasers – something commonplace during school years, are transformed by the artist and cause a quiet explosion in our consciousness, when we find out they are made of stone. They are jewellery objects that demonstrate the artist’s virtuoso skills,” Jurgita Ludavičienė, curator of the exhibition, says.
Curator Jurgita Ludavičienė
Architect Simona Sigita Paplauskaitė
Coordinator Mažvydas Truklickas
Designer Lina Bastienė
Organizers: The National Lithuanian Museum of Art, gallery Vilnensis
Partner Vilnius Academy of Art
Project financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture
Information partners: JCDecaux Lietuva, Artnews.lt, 7 meno dienos, Vilnius Gallery
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