Linas Jusionis (b. 1986) studied painting at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Since 2009 he has been participating in group exhibitions, and since 2010 has held several solo shows in Vilnius. He is a finalist (2009, 2010) and runner-up (2011) of the international competition “Young Painter Prize”. His works are part of the collection of the Modern Art Centre in Vilnius.
Geometrised interiors and landscapes painted by Jusionis are distinguished in the context of Lithuanian painting by their rationality, smooth and precise painting. His paintings contain elements of urban spaces and architecture, constructions of sports and recreation equipment. Minimalist stylistics and laconic visual expression brings his works close to abstraction. Therefore, the work by Jusionis is not narrative in the traditional sense. The artist reduces the elements pertaining to action to the minimum and leaves only scarce clues, which increase the tension of the represented scene, intrigue and provoke the viewer to get involved in a visual detective story and create his/her own history of the painting. While using a fragmentary composition and unexpected angles, as well as various visual obstacles, the artist offers the viewer the position of a secret observer, opening a possibility of voyeuristic pleasure. Thus, having turned the viewer into an important part of the work, the artist aims to control his/her view and encourages him/her to create a narrative. In this way the traditions of reading and perceiving the work are deconstructed. Jusionis’s canvases do not have a universal plot that has to be be discovered or deciphered. While yielding to the painter’s provocation, the viewers themselves provide a plot to the image referring to their personal experience. By involving the viewers in the creative process, Jusionis questions the status of a painting as a finite object and offers a possibility of processuality of a work of painting.
This practice of visual narrative makes Jusionis’s work similar to a cinematic narrative. His paintings are as if random film frames, silent and devoid of action at first sight, but in fact containing important information and conveying the mood. Thus, while using the principles of a film narrative, the artist seeks to test and expand the possibilities of painting and assess them in relation with other art forms. In addition to cinematography, Jusionis finds the context of literature and contemporary art important; his work has a strong intellectual and theoretical basis, which is well aligned with the refined aesthetics of his paintings.
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