Marija Puipaitė & Vytautas Gečas Lithuanians, b. 1987

Overview

Marija Puipaitė (b. 1987, Lithuania) and Vytautas Gečas (b. 1987, Lithuania) are Vilnius-based designers and PhD students at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Both artists obtained their BA in Product Design at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, followed by an MA in Contextual Design at the Design Academy Eindhoven.

Despite a collaborative working style, each of the designers has an individual creative approach. Puipaitė uses the human body as the starting point for her designs: whether it is furniture or jewellery, each piece cultivates an intimate, organic connection with its user/wearer. Gečas, on the other hand, turns to domestic objects as subjects of personification. By leaning on complexity, fragmentation and layering, he plays with different perceptions and contexts of the created objects. Besides developing and presenting personal creative projects, both designers collaborate with brands, engage in mentoring, and curate design workshops and exhibitions. By merging two different design practices, the artists look for common points and unexpected outcomes in object-based narratives. Their works are born through exploring the relations between contemporary and traditional materials, contrasting cold and hard, brass, metallic, or carbon structures with wood or cushioned, “comfortable” forms. Thus, various organic variations are created, leaving room for possible reconstruction. In many cases, the constructive framework of the designed objects remains exposed to viewer. This creates a rhythmic unfolding of the works’ inner structure that in turn, enveloped in the accompanying material, causes a fluidity in the shapes and an ergonomic feel.

Marija Puipaitė's website
Vytautas Gečas's website
Works
Biography

VYTAUTAS GEČAS

Born 1987 in Vilnius, Lithuania

Lives and works in Vilnius, Lithuania

EDUCATION/RESIDENCIES

2018 – Cite Internationale Des Arts, Paris (France)

2013 – Contextual Design (MA) at the Design Academy Eindhoven (The Netherlands)

2006-2010 – product design (BA) at Vilnius Academy of Arts, Vilnius (Lithuania)

EXHIBITIONS

2020 – Collectible Design fair, with VARTAI Gallery, Brussels (Belgium)

2020 – Spectrum, VARTAI Gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2020 – Head With Many Thoughts, Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2019 – Alert objects, VARTAI Gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2019 – Envisioned Comfort, A-piece gallery, Do the Right Thing, VAA exhibition space ‘Titanikas’, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2018 – Design Lithuania 2018, Palais Ducal, Caen (France)

2018 – now! le off, Paris design week, Paris (France)

2018 – Stories of Things Lithuanian Design 1918 - 2018, National Art Gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2018 – 4 a change, Vilnius design week 2018, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2018 – Ventura Future, Milan design week, Milan (Italy) 

2018 – LITHUANIA 100 ESTONIA, Museum of New Art, Parnu (Estonia)

2017 – Whats next 2017, Art factory LOFTAS, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2017 – Maison & Objet, Paris design week, Paris (France)

2017 – La terrasse vol.4, Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven (The Netherlands)

2016 – Maison & Objet, Paris design week, Paris (France)

2015 – Maison & Objet, Paris design week, Paris (France)

2015 – Žilvinas Landzbergas. Crown Off, Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2014 – Nida Action, Design Innovation Center, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2014 – Maison & Objet, Paris design week, Paris (France)

2014 – Personal exhibition together with Tauras Stalnionis, Design Week, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2013 – TAC (Temporary Art Centre), Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven (The Netherlands)

2013 – Eindhoven Design Academy Graduation show, Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven (The Netherlands)

2012 – Our enviroment - our nature - Eindhoven Design Academy, Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven (The Netherlands)

MARIJA PUIPAITĖ 

Born 1987 in Vilnius, Lithuania

Lives and works in Vilnius, Lithuania

EDUCATION/RESIDENCIES

2018 – Cite Internationale Des Arts, Paris (France)

2013 – Contextual Design (MA) at the Design Academy Eindhoven (The Netherlands)

2006-2010 – product design (BA) at Vilnius Academy of Arts in 2010

EXHIBITIONS

2020 – Collectible Design fair, with VARTAI Gallery, Brussels (Belgium)

2019 – Alert objects, VARTAI Gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2019 – Budapest Design Week festival, Budapest (Hungary)

2019 – Designsalon 2019, Europe’s Designing Women, Landesgalerien, Linz (Austria)

2019 – Envisioned Comfort, A-piece gallery, Do the Right Thing, Titanikas, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2018 – Abstract Expressions – Explorations in Jewellery Designs, Zaha Hadid Gallery, London (United Kingdom)

2018 – Le Off, Paris Design Week, Ground Control - 81 rue du Charolais, Paris (France)

2018 – Design Lithuania 2018, Palais Ducal, Caen (France)

2018 – now! le off, Paris design week, Paris (France)

2018 – Stories of Things Lithuanian Design 1918 - 2018, National Art Gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2018 – 4 a change, Vilnius design week 2018, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2018 – Selected 2018, Out of the Frame, Neue Galerie Graz at Universalmuseum Joanneum, Graz (Austria)

2018 – Ventura Future, Milan design week, Milan (Italy) 

2018 – Applied Arts and Design 1918-2018, Museum of Applied Arts and Design, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2017 – Fantasy, Vol. 4, Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, (The Netherlands)

2017 – London Design Fair, Old Truman Brewery Hall S5, London (United Kingdom)

2017 – Mint design gallery, London Design Festival, 2 North Terrace, London (United Kingdom)

2017 – Age of Man, Milan Design Week, Ventura Lambrate, Milan (Italy)

2017 – Central Textile Museum in Lodz (Poland)

2017 – Muzeum Miasta Gdyni (Poland)

2017 – Museum of Applied Art and Design, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2017 – Nordic House, Reykjavík (Iceland)

2017 – Latvian National Museum of Art / Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Riga (Latvia)

2017 – Estonian Museum of Applied Arts and Design (Tallinn)

2016 – Form/Design Center, Malmö (Sweden) 

2016 – Embracing Touch (solo), ARgenTum Jewellery Art gallery of Vilnius Art Academy, Vilnius (Lithuania)

2016 – Dutch Design Week, Sectie C, Eindhoven (The Netherlands)

2015 – January, Generation 2015, Looiersgracht 60, Amsterdam (The Netherlands)

2014 – Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show, Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven (The Netherlands)

COLLECTIONS

Museum of Applied Arts and Design, Vilnius (Lithuania)

Exhibitions
Art Fairs
Bibliography

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS

2020 – Sonia Dutt and Sakshi Rai, “#TrendAlert Alliteration: String a design symphony with recurrent elements and motifs”, in: ELLE décor India, 2020-12-02

2020 – “Lietuva – Leipcige rengiamos tarptautinės dizaino mugės garbės viešnia”, in: SwO magazine, 2020-10-20

2020 – Natashah Hitti, “Envisioned Comfort furniture collection pairs velvet seats with wooden frameworks,” in: dezeen.com, 2020-07-05

2020 – Valdas Puteikis, “Dizainerė Marija Puipaitė – apie prarastą tėvą ir jo įtaką : ‘Mudviem su mama jis gyvas tarp šeimos daiktų“, in: Žmonės, 2020-01-01

2017 – Emma Tucker, “Marija Puipaitė‘s Embracing Touch jewellery “puddles” on the body”, in: dezeen.com, 2017-01-22

2017 – „Kuriu žmogui, kuris ieško“, in: Created in Lithuania, no.1, 2017

2017 – “Marija, jos objektai ir intymumas”, in: Namas ir aš, 2017-01

2014 – Katie Treggiden, “Marija Puipaitė shapes Embracing Touch seats with outline of her legs“, in: dezeen.com,2014-11-29

2013 – Maisie Skidmore, “Introducing: Furniture Designer Vytautas Gecas on his innovative work”, in: It’s Nice That, 2013-10-24

2013 – Emilija Švobaitė, “Pokalbis su Marija Puipaite”, in: Ore.lt, 2013-02-28

 

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