Just as the surrealists highlighted in their paintings, when we think about our dreams we are sensitive to the objects that appeared in those scenes as we try to read them. Kumža applies the same hypersensitivity to objects, their state and their placement in the waking world. Born into a precarious situation and a turbulent home life where emotions could change at the tip of a bottle, the artist’s childhood experiences taught him to read objects and the minutia of each scene; a gas hob left burning, a scared dog, a door left open and unlocked. In adult life he now couples this honed skill with studies in composition and psychology, to place objects in highly aestheticised relationships that are often instantly alluring but hold intense tension. While still, these inanimate protagonists are often bodily in their rendering, fragile, tense. At once potentially sexual, potentially violent, potentially seductive, potentially abusive — emotions waiting for release.
Kumža graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in 2017. His work has since been exhibited at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Netherlands); Museum of Photography Seoul (MoPS) (South Korea); CODA Museum (Netherlands); Museum Villa Mondriaan (Netherlands); (nelly&) theo van doesburg foundation, Amsterdam (Netherlands); NEST, The Hague (Netherlands); National Gallery, Prague (Czech Republic); Geste, Paris (France); Kunsthuis SYB. Beetsterzwaag (Netherlands); and MaMA, Rotterdam (Netherlands).
Kumža's works are held in the collections of Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Netherlands); Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Netherlands); MO Museum Vilnius (Lithuania); GCA Collection, Montélimar (France); CODA Museum Apeldoorn (Netherlands); LAM Museum Lisse (Netherlands); Noewe Foundation (Lithuania); Mondriaan Fonds (Netherlands); NN Art Collection (Netherlands); KPMG Art Collection (Netherlands), SEB Bank Art Collection (Lithuania); Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands; and private collections internationally. Kumža received the NN Art Award in 2022 and the Sybren Hellinga Art Prize in 2019.
Kumža graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in 2017. His work has since been exhibited at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Netherlands); Museum of Photography Seoul (MoPS) (South Korea); CODA Museum (Netherlands); Museum Villa Mondriaan (Netherlands); (nelly&) theo van doesburg foundation, Amsterdam (Netherlands); NEST, The Hague (Netherlands); National Gallery, Prague (Czech Republic); Geste, Paris (France); Kunsthuis SYB. Beetsterzwaag (Netherlands); and MaMA, Rotterdam (Netherlands).
Kumža's works are held in the collections of Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Netherlands); Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Netherlands); MO Museum Vilnius (Lithuania); GCA Collection, Montélimar (France); CODA Museum Apeldoorn (Netherlands); LAM Museum Lisse (Netherlands); Noewe Foundation (Lithuania); Mondriaan Fonds (Netherlands); NN Art Collection (Netherlands); KPMG Art Collection (Netherlands), SEB Bank Art Collection (Lithuania); Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands; and private collections internationally. Kumža received the NN Art Award in 2022 and the Sybren Hellinga Art Prize in 2019.
"Inner Dialogue", 2022. Archival inkjet print, shells, screws, aluminium frame. 80 x 60 cm.
Vytautas Kumža, Beginning or the end, 2024. Archival ink-jet print, metal hardware, knife, aluminium frame. 100 x 80 cm.
Exhibition view at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 2024
“Dizziness”, 2022. Archival ink-jet print, opaque glass, hinge, aluminium frame. 50x40cm.
Exhibition view at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 2024
Exhibition view at CODA Museum, Apeldoorn 2023
“Fragile chair 2“, 2022. Glass, epoxy, various objects, aluminium clamps with screws. 92x52x45cm.
Exhibition view at CODA Museum, Apeldoorn 2023
'Prospects' installation view, 2021. Image: Luuk Smits
“After hours”, 2022. Champagne glasses, metal hardware, oyster shell. 110x13x10cm.
|