"I Am Sitting in a Room" at EXPO Chicago | Emerging Art and Alternative Education from Lithuania

About

Rupert, the independent center for art, residencies and education in Vilnius, will present I am Sitting in a Room at EXPO Chicago 2022. Bringing contemporary Lithuanian art to the fair’s audience, for the first time the exhibition features 5 emerging artists who are alumni of Rupert’s Alternative Education Program. 

I am Sitting in a Room probes the experience of isolation and reflection on one’s environment in the context of different artistic practices. The title pays homage to American artist and composer’s Alvin Lucier’s (1931-2021) landmark sonic piece, created in 1969, in which Lucier used technological process to capture natural frequencies of the space. The exhibition provides a glimpse into the power of material storytelling as a way of processing the highly personal, yet universally recognizable symptoms of detachment. The variety of media, subject matter, and execution speaks to the nature of isolation as a highly divergent experience. 

The booth itself functions as a leaking isolation room - partially fractured, never fully closed, and ripe with ways in which we process moments of radical self-confrontation. The participating artists Aistė Ambrazevičiūtė, Anastasia Sosunova, Aistė Marija Stankevičiūtė, Vytenis Burokas, and Katryna Čiurlionis seek to explore the multi-faceted forms of isolation, which shape-shift and spread across bodies and spaces. The unflinching look at oneself unveils not only hidden conflicts and desires but also the feelings of compassion and humility, and a deep yearning for comfort and shelter. 

“We are pleased to give platform for the emerging Lithuanian artists to present their works at EXPO Chicago,” says Tautvydas Urbelis, curator of programs at Rupert. “We also see this exhibition as a great opportunity to highlight our alternative art education programs and share our expertise in empowering and supporting artists as they build their creative practices on an international scale.”

Works in the exhibition include “Lichen Grammar” by digital artist Aistė Ambrazevičiūtė, which aims to stimulate the art of attention and convey unimaginable visual realities; “Passage Pie” and “Diluvial Valleys” by interdisciplinary artist Anastasia Sosunova, which explore the socio-political landscape of modern Lithuania: popular folk traditions, national identity and models of magical thinking; “Whirlpool” by artist and writer Aistė Marija Stankevičiūtė highlighting elements of ancient myths and today’s “bling” culture; the series of paintings “Appearances Can Be Deceiving” by the artist and curator Vytenis Burokas whose practice researches the exchange of knowledge and its fermentation; and the works of Katryna Čiurlionis, Lithuanian-American creator and researcher of interdisciplinary design. 

I am Sitting in a Room is located in Special Exhibitions section, Booth 467.