ERWIN WURM / ŽILVINAS LANDZBERGAS: Artscape: AUSTRIA

Gallery “Vartai”, “Kino pavasaris” and “Vilnius Jazz festival” invite the audience to dive into the European cultural rhythms of the 21^st century. „ARTscape“ is a large-scale project that involves contemporary art, cinema and jazz, co-organized by some of the most qualified cultural institutions: “Kino pavasaris”, “Vilnius jazz” and Gallery “Vartai”. Throughout the year and in the beginning of 2010 these three experienced institutions will be presenting the contemporary culture scenes of twelve European countries, the cities of which are, were, or will become European capitals of culture. The three different media – art, cinema and music – will outline the diagrams of dynamic cultural processes, while interdisciplinary presentation of each country will appeal to a multitude of different social groups.

“ARTscape, aims to reveal the new panorama of the European contemporary culture, the mutual influences and transgression of cultural identities. This year, the city of Vilnius, like Linz, also celebrates the status of the Capital of Culture. ARTSCAPE invites you to discover Austria through art, jazz and film.

ERWIN WURM „Würstelstand“

ŽILVINAS LANDZBERGAS „Snow Export“

In the third ARTSCAPE exhibition Vartai gallery introduces one of the most famous Austrian sculptors, Erwin Wurm with his exhibition “WÜRSTELSTAND”, along with the young Lithuanian artist Žilvinas Landzbergas with his new installation “Snow Export”. The artists are united through their ironic perception of sculpture immersing the spectator in a colourful fiction of seemingly ordinary objects. With his work, Erwin Wurm manages to extend the conventional concept of sculpture; his installations involve a game of absurdity and impermanence, where anyone and anything can become a sculpture including the spectators of his exhibition or simple cucumbers. Meanwhile, the works of Žilvinas Landzbergas embody ‘notes’ on daily life, characters, autobiographies, symbols and habits of their application and analyse the questions regarding the relationship between the artist and his work. It is sort of an abstract of household, social and economical notes conveyed through visual language.