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.
