Artwork in the room
Martynas Ivinskas is an artist born in Kaunas, Lithuania, and currently living and working between Vilnius and Brussels. His practice moves freely between painting, drawing, objects, collage and assemblage, deliberately resisting strict boundaries between artistic forms and media.
Ivinskas is drawn to what surrounds him: the city, people, music, architecture, everyday objects, and the constant visual noise of contemporary life. He observes his environment, breaks it down into fragments, and reconstructs it into new, sometimes absurd, sometimes playful, but always distinctly personal forms. In his work, order is constantly confronted with chaos, while reality meets imagination.
The city becomes a kind of playground in Ivinskas's practice. Musicians, instruments, buildings, human figures, signs, and fragments of everyday life overlap, repeat, and intertwine, forming complex visual networks. Rather than asking the viewer simply to "read" an artwork, Ivinskas invites them to get lost in it - to search for familiar forms, create their own associations, and discover something they may not have been looking for in the first place.
He frequently works with unconventional surfaces and materials, ranging from city maps to jute coffee sacks and everyday objects. In his practice, a painting can move beyond the canvas, a collage can become an object, and an ordinary item can acquire an entirely different life. This unrestricted relationship with materials and media is central to his creative approach.
Ivinskas's exhibitions function as works in their own right. Individual paintings, objects, and fragments are deliberately brought together into visually intense, sometimes chaotic environments. Art critic Paulius Garbačiauskas has described this approach as a "fragmented reality" - a carefully constructed chaos in which chance becomes part of the artistic method.
Ivinskas has presented solo exhibitions in Lithuania and the United States, including DUO 02/16 at Hangar Gallery in Santa Monica, 10'000 signatures at gallery Building Bridges Art Exchange in Santa Monica, Colorful Society at Bruce Lurie Gallery in Los Angeles, and …on the maps at Vilnius City Hall. His work has also been presented internationally in group exhibitions, including exhibitions at the Louvre in Paris and Times Square in New York.
Ivinskas's work is difficult to define through a single technique, medium, or stylistic vocabulary. And that is not a problem to be solved. On the contrary, the freedom to choose, combine, and experiment is one of the defining characteristics of his practice.
About this artwork+
The painting depicts a vivid and chaotic scene filled with various elements and colors. On the left, there is a seated figure in contemplation, portrayed in hues of blue and orange, with a serene expression. The background of this figure looks like a patchwork of pyramid shapes and different colors giving it a mysterious aura. In the center and right of the painting, the chaos intensifies with a figure that appears somewhat perplexed or alarmed. This figure features a green and yellow complexion and is surrounded by a myriad of abstract and fantastical elements, including eyeballs, swirling forms, and a bright pink area that suggests a dynamic energy or movement. Notably, there seems to be an oversized violin fused into the figure’s body, indicating perhaps a surreal amalgamation of human and object, emphasizing a theme of connection or bondage. Throughout the painting, Martynas Ivinskas uses a vibrant palette and a variety of textures that seem to pulse with life and energy. There’s also a floating face and what looks like bottles, adding to the dreamlike, otherworldly atmosphere of the piece. The use of dotted texturing in areas adds depth and a tactile sense to the work, making the scene even more engaging and visually complex.
