Robertas Narkus Lithuanian, b. 1983

ARTISTIC PRACTICE

Robertas Narkus approaches artistic practice as the construction of temporary systems. Rather than beginning with a medium, he begins with a situation: an institution, an economy, a social relationship, or a technological process that can be reorganised through artistic means.

Media and methods are determined by the needs of each project rather than by disciplinary boundaries. A fish farm, a café, an engineering camp, an exhibition, or a business model may all become part of the same work. The artwork exists not only as an object but as the network of exchanges, negotiations, and unforeseen events that allow it to function.

Humour occupies an important place within the practice. Speculation and deliberate misuse become strategies for exposing the hidden logic of contemporary systems. Rather than offering direct critique, Narkus constructs situations that remain operational while quietly revealing the contradictions embedded within them.

Across projects, coincidence is treated less as chance than as a working method. By allowing unexpected relationships to emerge between people, institutions, and objects, Narkus produces works that remain inseparable from the conditions that produce them.

EDUCATION

2025 – Practice-based PhD in Arts, Vilnius Academy of Arts, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2015 – Fine Arts (MFA), Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
2010 – Photography and Media Art (MA), Vilnius Academy of Arts, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2006 – Photography and Media Art (BA), Vilnius Academy of Arts, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2004 – Exchange Programme, Turku Academy of Arts, Turku (Finland)

RESIDENCIES

2021 – National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Seoul (South Korea)
2020 – Nida Art Colony, Nida (Lithuania)
2018 – Delfina Foundation, London (United Kingdom)
2018 – FACT – Foundation for Art and Creative Technology, Liverpool (United Kingdom)
2016 – Skaftfell Art Center, Seyðisfjörður (Iceland) (if this is indeed Skaftfell rather than "Skaftel Greece"; the source you pasted seems to contain an error)
2014 – Performing Arts Forum, Saint-Erme (France)
2012 – Rupert, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2012 – Kunsthaus Bregenz Residency Programme, Bregenz (Austria)

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2023 – Full Moon, Galerija VARTAI, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2022 – Gut Feeling, Lithuanian Pavilion, 59th Venice Biennale, Venice (Italy)
2020 – The Board, Galerija VARTAI, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2019 – Prospect Revenge, David Dale Gallery, Glasgow (United Kingdom)
2019 – Sphynx, Editorial Project Space, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2017 – Träger, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2017 – Guest, KIM? Contemporary Art Centre, Riga (Latvia)
2016 – Doghme, Neverneverland, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
2015 – Easy CUTZ, Juliette Jongma Gallery, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
2014 – Turbulence-3, Tenderpixel, London (United Kingdom)
2012 – Red Herring / Lithuanian Art 2012, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius (Lithuania)

(SELECTED) GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024 – Spectrum 2, Galerija VARTAI, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2023 – The Board, East Contemporary, Milan (Italy)
2021 – L'Étreinte – Embracement – Glamonė, Galerija VARTAI, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2020 – The Board, Galerija VARTAI, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2019 – XVII a., Autarkia, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2019 – I Had Amnesia Once or Twice, Polansky Gallery, Prague (Czech Republic)
2018 – Waiting for Another Coming, Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw (Poland)
2018 – How Can Large Mountains Enter Small Ice, Delfina Foundation, London (United Kingdom)
2018 – Artist Film International, Whitechapel Gallery, London (United Kingdom); Ballroom Marfa, Marfa (USA)
2015 – 12th Baltic Triennial, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2015 – Spell to Spelling – Spelling to Spell, de Appel, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
2015 – A Day in the Life of Thomas, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
2014 – 5th Marrakech Biennale, Marrakech (Morocco)

AWARDS

2014 – Young Artist Award, Ministry of Culture of Lithuania
2013 – State Scholarship for Artists, Ministry of Culture of Lithuania
2010 – Vilnius City Mayor's Award for Emerging Artists

COLLECTIONS

Noewe Foundation, Vilnius (Lithuania)
Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki (Finland)
Private Collections