The Vilnius Enamel Biennial is a biennial event, the only event dedicated to professional enamel art in the Baltic States. The Biennial is curated by its founder, jeweller Marytė Dominaitė, who has extensive experience in the field of enamel art, and Dr. Jurgita Ludavičienė, a curator, art historian, and writer on contemporary jewellery for more than 20 years.
"Starting in 2005, the Biennial has turned Vilnius into a vibrant enamel art centre that is recognisable and well-known among the capital cities of Eastern and Western Europe, enamel art professionals, and fans. We are glad that this year's International Enamel Art Biennale, which is taking place for the tenth time, is celebrating the name of Vilnius and the name of the Goldsmiths' Guild of Vilnius, which was founded 529 years ago," said the founder of the Biennial and one of the Biennial's co-curators, the artist M. Dominaitė.
The main topic of the jubilee Enamel Biennial is "Shedevre". The exhibition invites professional enamel artists who have participated in previous biennales and whose works have been nominated by international juries for prizes or commendations. The exhibition will feature 38 artists from Japan, Estonia, Venezuela, France, Latvia, Israel, Lithuania and Sakartvelo, who will present more than 60 works in various enamelling techniques.
According to one of the Biennial's curators, the art historian Dr. Ludavičienė, enamel is a distinctive genre, where the tradition of performance is given a contemporary, innovative or conceptual twist. This has been a requirement for the selection of works for previous enamel biennales, and it is even more relevant for the anniversary exhibition.
"At the 10th International Enamel Biennale, the audience will have the opportunity to see the various ways of using enamel: subtle reworking enamel, bold industrial enamel, to compare the manner in which the artists of different countries work, and to see what masterpieces they have created. Here, enamel is combined with amber, precious stones, silver and gold leaf. It moves onto copper utensils and book covers, unexpectedly becoming a painting or a three-dimensional sculpture, dazzling with colour and seducing with the subtlety of its technique," said Ludavičienė.
Visitors will also see the enamel installation "The Cloak of Prince Gediminas", created for the occasion of the 700th birthday of Vilnius. The project involved three hundred Vilnius residents and visitors of all ages and backgrounds, from six to eighty-six years of age, who used 700 original enamel-coated copper plates to create a collective work in the form of a series of interpretations of the motifs and symbols of Vilnius city, which were combined to form a single large "Duke Gediminas' Cloak", dedicated to the birthday of Vilnius. The work was realised in cooperation with the Tomas Zanas Library, the Justinas Vienožinskis Art School, the Vilnius Region Scouts' Skaisčio Tuntas, the Vincas Grybas Memorial Museum, the Vilnius City Municipality Social Care Home "Vilniaus Lakštingalos namai" and others.
The International Vilnius Enamel Art Biennial "Vilnius 2024" will be open at the gallery "Meno niša" until 18 May.
Later, in July, the collection of the International Enamel Art Biennial "Vilnius 2024" will be presented in Tallinn, Estonia, in August - at the Cultural Centre of Sigulda, Latvia and in September - at the Panevėžys City Art Gallery.
