{"id":33705,"date":"2022-05-31T16:34:09","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T16:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rothkomuseum.com\/?page_id=33705"},"modified":"2022-05-31T16:35:43","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T16:35:43","slug":"gaitena-sarunas-ar-arvidu-martinaiti-lietuva","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rothkomuseum.com\/en\/museum\/lets-talk-art\/gaitena-sarunas-ar-arvidu-martinaiti-lietuva\/","title":{"rendered":"Hallway talks with Arvydas Martinaitis (Lithuania)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Rothko Centre: Your exhibition title says \u201cIt Won\u2019t Get Any Better than This\u201d<\/a>. It really won\u2019t?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arvydas Martinaitis: You know, I\u2019ve always wanted to keep surprising my viewers with something new. Shaking them up a bit. So the title is just a pun. Things will get better; of course, they will! And there\u2019s another meaning there, too \u2013 allegedly, you won\u2019t see a better, more exciting exhibition because this one\u2019s as good as they go (laughs). But, again, that\u2019s hardly the case. We keep going, and there\u2019ll surely be more to intrigue and spark your interest.<\/p>\n

RC: Right now, we don\u2019t have many reasons to laugh, but your exhibition seems to be giving people a licence to be happy. Your humour and irony, where do you get them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: From my granddad. My father was a painter, a great artist, real as you get, but my granddad specialised in watercolour and caricature. So one day, I was on a plein air when the editor of a Lithuanian newspaper told me my paintings reminded him of my grandfather\u2019s work. That my style was similar to his. More so than my father\u2019s manner of painting. After all, humour and caricature go hand in hand. So I seem to have inherited the gene.<\/p>\n

RC: I try to imagine you as a child, and it seems you were quite a handful. A right little rascal, no?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: Well spotted (laughs). By no means a malicious roughneck, I did get into a few scrapes. But then again, in Soviet times, if you didn\u2019t do well in school, you couldn\u2019t go to university and move up in the world. So one had to try and stay on the straight and narrow and put in an effort. So, in the end, I did the full range, from vocational school to art academy. And every school gave me some skills I still use as a painter. At first, I trained as a painter and decorator and got my secondary education. Then I did a college course in restoration. And then came the art academy in Vilnius, where I studied painting.<\/p>\n

RC: Coming as you do from such a creative family, you must have loved drawing from an early age.<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: Not really, no (laughs). My father was a famous artist, and when we were out together, I was often asked if I liked drawing. And I\u2019d usually snap \u2013 no, I don\u2019t! But when my father passed away (he was just 47!), I was desperate to reconnect. How? Only through drawing and painting. So when I was studying painting and decorating, I already knew I wanted to be an artist. And I applied to an art college. I\u2019d hoped to learn restoration, but they took people after the ninth grade, and I\u2019d already finished secondary school. So I played a smart trick \u2013 I applied to the design group and then asked for a transfer to restoration. Yep, you could do that!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

RC: A lush palette, a distinctive brushstroke and texture… It\u2019s pretty clear from your work that you\u2019re an oil buff.<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: Perhaps it\u2019s due to my background as a painter and decorator that I have this bold brushstroke and these crazy colours (laughs). And my special technique. You know, there\u2019s this particular technique when your entire painting is done with a spatula. But it\u2019s not just the oils, I also love acrylic and watercolour.<\/p>\n

RC: Oil painting is rather time-consuming, so it takes lots of patience.<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: I cheat with the tricks I learnt as a construction worker. I take the paint they use in construction due to its fast-drying properties. Granted, it\u2019s tough work on account of the terrible smell. Goes straight to your head. But the pandemic has taught me a way around it \u2013just put on a face mask\u2026 and it\u2019s not so bad. And there\u2019s much less competition in this line of work.<\/p>\n

RC: But you do other things besides painting, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: I paint a bit, and I teach basic photography. And I\u2019ve been an exhibition curator for the past twelve thirteen years.<\/p>\n

RC: Sounds pretty busy\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: Yes. But I\u2019m up to here with most of it (smiles). Most likely because the students have changed so much. It\u2019s a whole different breed now. Their approach and attitude no longer inspire. Smartphones, computers\u2026 don\u2019t get me wrong, they\u2019re perfectly fine! But we seem to have lost something genuine and alive. I\u2019ll give you an example. We\u2019re drawing a still life from a setup. And one of my students just snaps a picture and draws from his phone (laughs). I mean, who does that?… I tell him \u2013 come on, look at the object! It\u2019s right in front of you! Some people just can\u2019t be bothered. I knock myself out, trying to spark an interest, and end up thinking \u2013 what\u2019s the point?… (shrugs). It almost makes you want to throw in the towel. But another summer passes, and I hitch myself in for another ride. I want to emphasise contemporary painting, tweak the programme, work my socks off, and still end up hitting a wall\u2026 Don\u2019t get me wrong, the students aren\u2019t all bad. I get a few I really like to work with. Usually, at my Saturday course. Now those people really have the drive. I mean, of course they do. And still, I sometimes feel bored to tears. Guess I\u2019m at a stage when I\u2019d like to live for myself, not others.<\/p>\n

RC: And what would that mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: Only painting.<\/p>\n

RC: That\u2019s it? Or do you have other things that inspire you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: (smiles) You know, there was a time I wanted to be a gym trainer. After all, I work out, and I really love it. A legitimate job, only in sports. Right up my alley!<\/p>\n

RC: Would you agree that performance has lately become a leading art form?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: We need everything, the full works. After all, performance art has a pretty short lifespan. A couple of years, and everybody will have forgotten (with a few notable exceptions).<\/p>\n

RC: What\u2019s your favourite subject in painting?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Am: I\u2019m a universal artist \u2013 I do people, still lifes and landscapes.<\/p>\n

RC: And what about formats?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: I like working on a large scale.<\/p>\n

RC: What\u2019s the best thing about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: Well, with smaller formats, you tinker and tinker, and something still feels undone. Never so with the larger ones. I paint the picture, and I\u2019m happy right away. And the feeling stays!<\/p>\n

RC: And what about when you\u2019re unhappy with your work? Do you know the pain of creation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: I sometimes look at my paintings from a couple of years back, and I don\u2019t like them. So much that I want to do them over. Sometimes I actually go and do it. Or simply bin them. No more than one in ten will pass my inspection. And I mostly rely on my gut. So I hang the thing up, and I wait. If it doesn\u2019t seem right in two weeks, it\u2019s not staying.<\/p>\n

RC: When do you share your paintings as gifts?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: When I fall in love (laughs). No, but seriously, I give away very rarely. Only for very special occasions, if I feel the person really likes it.<\/p>\n

RC: Who are your role models in art?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: My father. I\u2019m sorry we didn\u2019t get to sit down and chat about painting and argue out our perspectives. He lived the life of a true artist and played as hard as he worked. And he was very kind, maybe too kind. People took advantage. He left many paintings, many works. You see, my father painted in the old style, with oils. He\u2019d work on ten pieces at once, letting the paint dry in circles. I love Rothko. He was different. Love his pure colours and harmony. Although I also like dissonance, chaos and loss of balance.<\/p>\n

RC: The artist paints one thing and has one idea, but the critics see something else. Have you been there?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: Sometimes, when critics start dissecting your work, you can\u2019t help wondering \u2013 really?! You simply experienced a strong emotion, the proverbial kick in the gut, and just painted it out without thinking about deeper meanings.<\/p>\n

RC: What\u2019s your favourite thing about plein airs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: I adore plein airs! You get different people, stories and experiences. The spirit of adventure, the thrill of the unpredictable. But it\u2019s no walk in the park \u2013 you\u2019re dealing with artists! Take this one case. We had Jewish artists over from Israel, where the pandemic had kept them on the strictest lockdown, confined to within three hundred metres from home. And here they were finally free, so they took a car and went driving around Lithuania with friends. Really knocked themselves out. Of course, the guys caught the Delta and passed it to our curator and me. Luckily, nobody else got hurt. But we all duly sat out our quarantine. I\u2019d had family plans to go to Liep\u0101ja, but when it was finally possible, the weather turned, and the rain set in. So that\u2019s when I said \u2013 no more plein airs, I quit (laughs).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

RC: How have you been since the tragic events in Ukraine?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: The war hit me hard. Innocents suffer and die, and I feel so powerless\u2026<\/p>\n

RC: What keeps you afloat?<\/strong><\/p>\n

AM: The developments in Ukraine have us grappling with rage, irritation and outright fury. Like many artists, we\u2019re looking for ways to process it, vent our frustrations, ease the tension, express where we stand through our work, and support the Ukrainian people in these incredibly tough times. For many, work becomes therapeutic. We all feel rattled and totally wretched. So we must try and keep ourselves together and do all we can to stop the world from falling to pieces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Rothko Centre: Your exhibition title says \u201cIt Won\u2019t Get Any Better than This\u201d. It really won\u2019t? Arvydas Martinaitis: You know, I\u2019ve always wanted to keep surprising my viewers with something new. Shaking them up a bit. So the title is just a pun. Things will get better; of course, they will! And there\u2019s another … <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":33697,"parent":32825,"menu_order":92,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-33705","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nHallway talks with Arvydas Martinaitis (Lithuania) - page 33705<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"page 33705\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rothkomuseum.com\/en\/museum\/lets-talk-art\/gaitena-sarunas-ar-arvidu-martinaiti-lietuva\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hallway talks with Arvydas Martinaitis (Lithuania)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Rothko Centre: Your exhibition title says \u201cIt Won\u2019t Get Any Better than This\u201d. 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