Contemporary Art Centre’s Summer Exhibition Cycle

The Contemporary Art Centre (ŠMC) launches its summer exhibition series! Throughout the summer – until September 14 – ŠMC will host two solo exhibitions and one group show. These will showcase the work of both Lithuanian and international artists, covering a wide spectrum of contemporary art – from photography to installations.

In 2024, France hosted the Lithuanian Season, an initiative that introduced French audiences to contemporary Lithuania and its culture. As part of this project, ŠMC, in collaboration with French art institutions, organized two exhibitions in Paris and Tours. This summer, they arrive at ŠMC in updated formats.

One of them is the group exhibition Borders are Nocturnal Animals (Lithuanian title: Sienos yra naktiniai gyvūnai), curated by Neringa Bumblienė (Lithuania) and Émilie Villez (France). Originally shown in the fall of 2024 at the KADIST art space and Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the exhibition features artists of different generations from Lithuania and beyond, connected by shared historical experiences. The Lithuanian edition of the show, developed in partnership with KADIST, includes a rich selection from KADIST’s collection, fostering a dialogue with the artists and works presented in Paris.

Both the Paris and Vilnius presentations were prompted by the current geopolitical upheaval caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine and its wide-reaching consequences. The curators pose the question: what kind of normalcy is possible in the shadow of this conflict, two years after the full-scale invasion, while witnessing history repeat itself? The exhibition reveals previously untold stories from the region, until recently overshadowed by dominant power narratives. Can voicing these stories shift long-established narratives of the past and present?

Another exhibition, also previously shown during the Lithuanian Season in France, is Expectations – a solo exhibition by Lithuanian artist Gerda Paliušytė. Based in Vilnius, Paliušytė explores various documentary practices and examines phenomena and figures from both history and pop culture, and their connection to social realities. Her films, photographs, and installations often investigate different forms of intimacy and collective experience. Expectations is part of an ongoing project titled Boys and Blue Flowers.

At the center of the exhibition is a series of macro photographs of white orchid blooms. According to curator Asta Vaičiulytė, “these flowers emerged after the artificial, blue-dyed petals – a short-lived marketing ploy of the floral industry – had wilted and fallen off. The large-format inkjet giclée prints allow viewers to observe the texture and undertones of the white petals – a testament to nature’s resistance against color manipulation. Almost blending with the exhibition space in daylight, the floral forms trace imagined bodies and spaces in the viewer’s mind, emphasizing the constructed nature of visual narratives.”

Gerda Paliušytė’s exhibition will also feature a sculptural piece titled We by artist Gediminas G. Akstinas, along with collaborative printed visuals designed for visitors to take home.

Completing ŠMC’s summer program is Exit from the Garden, a solo exhibition by Polish artist Piotr Bury Łakomy – his first presentation in Lithuania. Based in Poznań, Łakomy combines themes of embodiment, architecture, and gardening to reflect on the fragility of urban everyday life. The exhibition includes works created specifically for the ŠMC space.

According to curator Edvardas Šumila, “the title is a subtle reference to the Garden of Eden. But unlike the typical Western reading of expulsion, here the idea is of a conscious exit, moving away from the notion of original nature.” Thus, the exhibition explores the boundaries between the natural and the artificial – a recurring theme in contemporary art discourse.

All three exhibitions will be on view until September 14.