Yvon Lambert

Zilvinas Kempinas

09 Sep - 16 Oct 2010

ZILVINAS KEMPINAS
"Ballroom"

September 9 – October 16, 2010
Opening reception: September 9, from 6–8pm

Yvon Lambert New York
550 West 21 Street, New York

Yvon Lambert New York is pleased to announce Zilvinas Kempinas’ first solo exhibition at the gallery.
Following his acclaimed representation of Lithuania in 2009 at the 53rd Venice Biennale, Kempinas presents BALLROOM, a large installation that will run concurrently at the gallery with an exhibition of work by Roman Opalka. The exhibitions will open with a reception for the artists on September 9 from 6-8pm and will be on view until October 16, 2010. BALLROOM was originally produced and exhibited by the Musée d’Art Moderne (MUDAM), Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg in summer 2010. Kempinas will also be featured in the upcoming group exhibition On Line: Drawing Through the Twentieth Century at the Museum of Modern Art, New York from November 21, 2010-February 7, 2011.
Kempinas uses unorthodox materials to create installations that transform architectural space and light to determine optical effect. Renowned for his work with unwound magnetic tape and fans, the artist uses basic principles of physics to enliven materials for his dynamic sculptures. Throughout his body of work Kempinas deftly balances between the peaceful and the kinetic while redefining the language of sculpture.
For this installation, Kempinas alters the white cube of the gallery into a continually shifting dramatic landscape. As air currents and the hum of fans fill the space, vivid reflections of spinning lights multiply in fluctuating panels of Mylar, generating a visually arresting parameter of bold color. Through utilizing the walls, ceiling, floor, and entire volume of the room, the artist stimulates the viewers’ awareness of their visual and temporal experience within the space.
Zilvinas Kempinas was born in Plunge, Lithuania in 1969 and currently lives and works in New York. He graduated with a BFA from Vilinus Art Academy in Lithuania in 1993, and earned his MFA from Hunter College in 2002. Kempinas was awarded the prestigious Calder Prize in 2007, and subsequently was an artist in residence at Atelier Calder in Saché, France in 2008. The artist represented Lithuania in 2009 at the 53rd Venice Biennale where he presented TUBE, an installation he created while at Atelier Calder. Kempinas has been featured in solo exhibitions at institutions including: Kunsthalle Wien, Austria; Galeria Leme, São Paulo, Brazil; Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center,
New York and BALTIC Center for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Quays, UK. Selected group exhibitions include: Transmediale 10 Festival, Berlin; MUDAM, Musee d’Art Moderne, Grand-Duc Jean, Luxemborg; Contemporary Art Museum Rochechouart, France; Lunds Konsthall, Sweden; Nam June Paik Art Center, Yong-in City, Korea; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; MANIF D’ART 4: La Biennale en Art Actuel de Québec, Canada; and MANIFESTA 7, Bolzano, Italy.
 

Tags: Zilvinas Kempinas, Roman Opalka, Nam June Paik