Ričardas Nemeikšis Lithuanian, b. 1959
Ričardas Nemeikšis (b. 1959, Lithuania) is a painter and creator of assemblages who graduated from Painting Studies at the Vilnius Academy of Arts in 1978. Since 1989, he was also a member of the progressive artist group Angis. Already back then, the artist’s works demonstrated an opposition to the tradition of easel and expressionist painting established at that time, and a turn towards abstract painting and assemblage.
Ričardas Nemeikšis’s paintings are characterised by monochromaticity and the abstractionist tradition of the colour field, which the artist combines with pop art and conceptualism. A frequent element of his earlier works is a specific pink colour which became the basis of many of his artworks. Later, the artist abandons the canvas by replacing it with cardboard or plates of “base” materials, on which he glues different materials and one of his signature elements, confetti sequins. The surface created from these materials is complemented by various assemblages of rough objects and tools, such as a pitchfork and a shovel, a brick or a trunk of a dead tree, which all become integral elements of the paintings. Nemeikšis’s lengthy creative process is based on a contemplative confrontation with colour, texture and the composition of the objects used. An important element of his works is their optical quality and the subtle dynamics of colours and shades, contrasting with heavy objects of which each has its own unique semantics. In this way, the artist creates nuancedly humorous works which sometimes flirt with kitsch, revealing an authentic, but at the same time, as the artist himself claims, very open meaning.
Ričardas Nemeikšis was awarded the highest-degree State Grant by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania. He has been taking part in exhibitions since 1987 and is currently working as a professor at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. The artist’s works have been included in the collection of the National Museum of Lithuania and several private collections both in Lithuania and abroad.
Born 1959 in Čivyliai village, Lithuania
Lives and works in Vilnius, Lithuania
EDUCATION/RESIDENCIES
1979–1986 – Painting at Vilnius Academy of Arts, Vilnius (Lithuania)
1974–1978 – St. Žukas Technical School of Applied Arts, Kaunas (Lithuania)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018 – Tuštumos blizgesys, Titanikas, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2015 – Spektrinė analize, gallery Akademija, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2013 – Blizgučiai, gallery Akademija, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2007 – Persekiojantys vaizdai (with Eglė Ridikaitė), VARTAI Gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2003 – Ričardas Nemeikšis, gallery Meno projektų pristatymai, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2001 – Horizontas, gallery Kairė-dešinė, Vilnius (Lithuania)
1998 – Ričardas Nemeikšis, Menų svetainė, Vilnius (Lithuania)
1996 – Ričardas Nemeikšis, Rokiškis Regional Museum, Rokiškis (Lithuania)
1994 – Ričardas Nemeikšis with Jonas Arčikauskas, Lietuvos aidas gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)
1992 – Ričardas Nemeikšis with Jonas Gasiūnas, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius (Lithuania)
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020 – Spectrum, VARTAI Gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2019 – Karnavalas, Pamėnkalnio gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2019 – Recommendation, Klaipeda Culture Communication Center, Klaipėda (Lithuania)
2018 – Einantis laikas, gallery Akademija, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2017 – 12x15, Meno parkas gallery, Kaunas (Lithuania)
2017 – Belvedere, gallery Meno forma, Kaunas (Lithuania)
2017 – From Vilnius to Gdansk, Gdańska Galeria Miejska, Gdansk (Poland)
2015 – Kartos nesikartoja (antrą kartą), gallery Meno forma, Kaunas (Lithuania)
2014 – Kartos (nesi)kartoja, gallery Meno forma, Kaunas (Lithuania)
2012 – (How did I get here)* Painting in Lithuania, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2012 – Video art festival “Points of view”, Manhattan, Lodz (Poland)
2011 – Group ‘Angis’ exhibition, Kaunas Picture Gallery, Kaunas (Lithuania)
2011 – Group ’Angis’ exhibition, Kaunas Picture Gallery, Kaunas (Lithuania)
2011 – Group ‘Angis’ exhibition, Titanikas, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2009 – Brigada Kormoran, Vilnius Railway Station, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2009 – Decentered / Margins 1 meter beyond the painting, Vilnius Railway Station, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2009 – Abstraction and Expressionism – two traditions of painting in Vilnius. 1960-2009, gallery Arka, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2009 – 2nd Quadriennale of Lithuanian Contemporary Art, LITEXPO, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2009 – Elephant Bullet, KUMU Art Museum, Tallin (Estonia)
2008 – Vilnius art scene after 2000, Latvian Art museum, Riga (Latvia)
2008 – Group ’Angis’ exhibition, VARTAI Gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2008 – Experiment. Exhibition of the 20th–21st century Lithuanian Art, National Museum of Lithuania, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2007 – Outline of experience, Lviv (Ukraine)
2007 – Linkime pasveikti, Klaipeda Culture Communication Center, Klaipėda (Lithuania)
2007 – Internaltional Project ‘KoViKaVi’, gallery Meno parkas, Kaunas (Lithuania)
2006 – Exhibition dedicated to the 120th anniversary of J. Vienožinskis, Rokiškis Regional Museum, Rokiškis (Lithuania)
2006 – Lithuanian Neopopart, Gallery Intro, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2005 – P. A. Ferrand, K. Lupeikis, R. Nemeikšis, gallery Akademija, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2005 – N+1, Senamiesčio dominijos pasažas, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2004 – Viruso projektas, Šiauliai Art Gallery, Šiauliai (Lithuania)
2003 – Baimės, Antanas Mončys house-museum, Palanga (Lithuania)
2002 – Group ‘Angis’ project ‘Nutrink pažymėtą vietą’, Kaunas Picture Gallery, Kaunas (Lithuania)
2002 – Trąsuojanti, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2002 – Baimės II, gallery Arka, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2001 – Baimės, Šiauliai Art Gallery, Šiauliai (Lithuania)
2000 – Group ‘Angis 2000’ exhibition, Kaunas Picture Gallery, Kaunas (Lithuania)
2000 – Rezus +/-, Kaunas Picture Gallery, Kaunas (Lithuania)
1999 – Group ‘Angis’ exhibition, Kaunas Picture Gallery, Kaunas (Lithuania)
1999 – Ričardas Nemeikšis and Kęstutis Lupeikis, gallery Kairė dešinė, Vilnius (Lithuania)
1998 – Rezus +/-, Šiauliai Art Gallery, Šiauliai (Lithuania)
1998 – Biosfera, Šiauliai Art Gallery, Šiauliai (Lithuania)
1997 – Group ‘Angis’ exhibition, Šiauliai Art Gallery, Šiauliai (Lithuania)
1996 – A joint exhibition of works by the group ‘Angis’ and three Danish artist, Kaunas Picture Gallery, Kaunas (Lithuania)
1999 – 1995: Lithuanian Art, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius (Lithuania)
1994 – J. Arčikauskas and R. Nemeikšis, gallery Lietuvos Aidas, Vilnius (Lithuania)
1994 – Group ‘Angis’ exhibition, Panevėžys Art Gallery, Panėvežys (Lithuania)
1994 – Group Exhibition: ‘24’, ‘Angie’, ‘1’, ‘Post Ars’, ‘e’, ‘Table’, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius (Lithuania)
1993 – Group ‘Angis’ exhibition, Kaunas Picture Gallery, Kaunas (Lithuania)
1993 – IX Vilnius Painting Triennial, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius (Lithuania)
1992 – Jonas Gasiūnas, Ričardas Nemeikšis. Tapyba, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius (Lithuania)
1991 – Group ‘Angis’ exhibition, Vilnius exhibition hall, Vilnius (Lithuania)
1990 – Group ‘Angis’ exhibition, Vilnius exhibition centre, Vilnius (Lithuania)
AWARDS/GRANTS
1998 – State scholarship of the Ministry of Culture (Lithuania)
COLLECTIONS
National Gallery of Art (Lithuania)
Mo museum collection (Lithuania)
Rokiškis Regional Museum collection (Lithuania)
Private collections
PUBLICATIONS
BOOKS/CATALOGUES
2014 – Lithuanian Painting, 1960-2013, ed.: Raminta Jūrėnaitė, Vilnius: Modernaus meno centras, 2014.
ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
2018 – Linas Bliškevičius, “Paradoksali beprasmė. Ričardo Nemeikšio paroda ‘Tuštumos blizgesys’ VDA parodų salėse ‘Titanikas”, in: 7 meno dienos, no. 11 (1248), 2018-03-16
2015 – Eglė Ulčickaitė, “Kosminės dulkės. Arba su laimingai praėjusia Ričardo Nemeikšio paroda”, in: 7 meno dienos, no. 11 (1117), 2015-03-20
2013 – Kristina Stančienė, “Blizgučiai gerokai po švenčių”, in: Literatūra ir menas, no. 3 (3410), 2013-01-18
2011 – Audronė Meškauskaitė, “Vis dar kandi ‘Angis”, in: Bernardinai.lt, 2011-03-15
2009 – Milda Žvirblytė, “Paveikslas kaip ekranas: Psichoanalitinis ir kinematografinis požiūriai“, in: Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis, t. 52, 2009.
