THE EXHIBITION "AM I WHO I AM" BY ALMYRA WEIGEL

The exhibition "Am I Who I Am?" by a contemporary artist Almyra Weigel (Lithuania-Germany), dedicated to the 30th anniversary of creation.

Almyra Weigel's work covers a wide range of themes: from topics on information, memory and ecology to the inner anxiety of an individual, the situation when one asks himself/herself in silence: "am I who I am"? This is not a meaningless phrase to the artist herself. "We must ask ourselves this question, take the time to think, so that the abundance and variety of information does not lead us into inner confusion. I am an artist who observes and discusses environmental items, who embraces all sides of life and who believes that the light side is stronger than the dark side," says the artist.

An important feature of Almyra Weigel's works is the preserved textile nature. She works with materials of her own creation, experimenting with a matter that easily changes its state - paper, plastic, silicone, coffee, spices, glue. The artist has discovered innovative ways of shaping surfaces. These include a unique "hot glue" technique, "newspaper threads", and large sculptural shapes formed from printing paper. Handmade work, the constant process of research and unexpected shapes, obtained by combining and recycling, have taken on the meaning of conceptual artistic activity in the work of Almyra Weigel.

Aware of the fragility of all things, she does not seek the eternity of her works. Some of the works in this exhibition will be destroyed at the end of the show. The action will not be public. The shows that have already taken place will be recalled in this exhibition by a column containing the ashes of former installations. In fact, the artist is asking: "Are we who we are, and what are we going to be?" Almyra Weigel's work is an intriguing combination of tenderness and radicalism. On the one hand it is a picture of a modern world that yearns for goodness and beauty, but is constantly destroying something on the other hand.

Almyra Weigel (Bartkevičiūtė) is a contemporary artist working in the fields of experimental textiles and interdisciplinary art. She received her artistic education at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, the Kaunas Institute of Fine Arts, where she had also taught for about ten years. Since 2001, she has been living in Berlin, and her work has been shown in various forms both in Germany and Lithuania.

The artist was awarded the Honorary Diploma of the European Triennial of Textile Art "Global Intrigue" in Riga (2007), was nominated for the Neukölln Art Prize in Berlin (2018), and has been granted several scholarships by the Lithuanian Council for Culture. In 2019, Almyra Weigel became the holder of the Lithuanian Artists' Union's Golden Badge, awarded to fellow artists.

Curator: Prof. Dr. Rasa Žukienė
Architect: Linas Tuleikis
Designer: Darius Petreikis

Organisers of the exhibition: the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art and the Kaunas Department of the Lithuanian Artists' Union
Partners: Adomas Mitkus School in Garliava, Dance Theatre "Aura", textile studio "Gijų sodai", “Kauno diena” (information partner)
The project has been financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture