Arturas Bumšteinas & Alanas Gurinas. Untitled

About

On August 18th, at 5 pm the exhibition "Untitled" by Arturas Bumšteinas and Alan Gurinas will open in Zarasai Cultural Centre’s space "Kupolė".

Arturas Bumšteinas is an interdisciplinary artist creating sound and audiovisual art. He frequently engages in collaborative projects and this time, he is partnering with Alanas Gurinas, a young-generation contemporary sculptor. In recent years, Arturas Bumšteinas has been focusing on sound-based artistic projects and installations, while Alanas Gurinas has been creating sound sculptures, audiovisual installations, and performances. This time, they are presenting a joint exhibition at the "Kupolė" venue on Zarasai Lake island.

Within the space envisioned by architect Šarūnas Kiaunė, the artists are emphasizing the building's original purpose - enabling contemporary audiovisual performances. In the exhibition "Untitled" the artists continue with the concept that they explored in their previous work - the theme of opposing elements through reversed objects. The sole object employed within the exhibition space is a smoke detector, which here functions as a sound source of the flames of fire. While typically recognized solely for its warning role and its‘ siren sound, in this installation the viewer is welcomed into a meditative and sensory encounter – to find tranquility by immersing themselves in natural sounds. 

Addressing the building's integration with nature, the artists aim to minimize their intervention in the exhibition space. They achieve this by creating a site-specific installation, exclusively employing objects already present in the building – the fire alarm system is turned into an integrated sound system. Thus, the installation is not conceived as a standalone sound object or a finite soundtrack; the exhibition resists documentation, as the viewer’s presence becomes integral. To fully experience the artwork, the spectator must physically engage, establish awareness of the space and its architectural elements.

Arturas Bumšteinas (b. 1982) received a Master’s degree in composition at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. He taught at the Aldeburgh Young Musicians Creative Lab at Snape Maltings in 2009 and Berlin’s Universitat der Kunste in 2007, currently giving lectures on sonic expression at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. The artist has organized seven solo exhibitions and participated in more than thirty group exhibitions and festivals in Europe and the US. Bumšteinas’s discography features records released both in Lithuania and abroad. The creator was also awarded the EBU prize at the Palma Ars Acustica Competition in 2013, spent 2017 at the DAAD residence in Berlin, and was awarded the Borisas Dauguvietis Earring for integrating sound experiments into new forms of theatre in 2019.

Alanas Gurinas (b. 1998) is currently studying for his Bachelor's degree at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, Department of Sculpture. Since 2018 he has been actively participating in group exhibitions, experimental music events, collaborating as a videographer with various Lithuanian and foreign artists. Since 2019 he has been participating in the Baroque Theatre Noise Machine Performance "Navigations" by Arturas Bumšteinas.

The exhibition "Untitled" by Arturas Bumšteinas and Alanas Gurinas will be open until September 10th at the cultural  space "Kupolė" (Salos str. 8, Zarasai).

The project is partially supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture.