Solo Show by Mindaugas Navakas The Coat 3 at Art in General (NYC)
The Gardens and Art in General are pleased to announce a solo exhibition by an acclaimed Lithuanian artist Mindaugas Navakas on view at Art in General’s Musée Miniscule from January 24 – March 15, 2014. This is the third exhibition in The Gardens’ yearlong curatorial residency at Art in General.
For this exhibition, Navakas created The Coat 3, a sculpture-turned-installation, made specifically to fit the diminutive proportions of Musée Miniscule. This work is a hybrid piece, nodding to both Navakas’s previous serial bodies of work, The Tents and The Coats, respectively.
Creating monumental, socially provocative works often made for public space, Navakas’s oeuvre refuses lyricism, in contrast to the figurative and decorative tradition of Lithuanian sculpture. A master of form and scale, Navakas works primarily with intractable materials such as steel, stone, concrete and iron. His work investigates the tension between the sculptor and his material, between the object and its environment, and the relationship of that object to its viewer. Attracted by the symbolism and social charge inherent in the mass produced objects, Navakas exploits these objects’ quotidian function, re-interpreting them into archetypical structures.
Curated by Inesa Pavlovskaitė and Gerda Paliušytė
Mindaugas Navakas (b. 1952) is an artist currently living and working in Vilnius, Lithuania. Since the beginning of his career in 1977, Navakas has been one of the most provocative and productive Lithuanian artists, presenting his contextual/conceptual sculptures at various exhibitions in Lithuania and abroad. Navakas has participated in many local and international large-scale art projects including Lithuanian National Pavilion at the 48th Venice Biennial in 1999, the South Korea Gwangju biennale in 1995, “Frieze Art Fair” in 2009. He has also created many site-specific works in the public space: The Hook at the Art League, Vilnius, Lithuania (1994); Reconnaissance, Helersdorf, Berlin (1997–1998); and Big Fish in Tranoy/Hammaroy, Norway (2006). His awards include the Herder Prize, Baltic Assembly premium, and Lithuanian National prize in Culture and Arts for achievements in culture and arts. Navakas has been teaching at the Sculpture Department of the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts since 1990.
Art in General is a nonprofit organization that assists artists with the production and presentation of new work. Art in General was founded in 1981 and in its 30 years, the organization has emerged as one of New York City’s leading nonprofit arts organizations. Art in General fulfills its mission in a variety of ways, including the organization and presentation of exhibitions, hosting a national and international artist residency program, and through regular public programs and membership events.
Opening is on Saturday, January 24, 6-8 pm.
Art in General, 79 Walker St., NYC.