The Baltic, a region typically seen as encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, has always boasted a dynamic art scene in Europe. One of its foremost contemporary art exhibitions, the Baltic Triennial, taps into that landscape of talent every three years—its 14th edition just opened this June in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Since 1979, the Baltic Triennial has brought together these nations’ diverse yet overlapping art scenes, which were then still a part of the former Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. As such, the exhibition has long straddled a shifting notion of East and West, offering a unique perspective on Europe.
Appropriately then, this year’s exhibition, which has brought together more than 60 artists from the region and from Central and Western Europe has been organized under the title, “The Endless Frontier.”
Zsofia Keresztes at the Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius, for the Baltic Triennial 14 “The Endless Frontier.” Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.
Helmed by Valentinas Klimašauskas, curator of the Latvian pavilion at the 2019 Venice Biennale, and Portugese curator João Laia, chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki, the show is anchored at the Contemporary Arts Center in the historic center of Vilnius, but spirals outward across various project spaces through the city. Each invited space developed their own autonomously curated projects that overlapped in some way with the core exhibition of the Contemporary Arts Center.
“The Endless Frontier” offers a compelling survey of young and emerging artistic talents, featuring works by Flo Kasearu, Zuzanna Czebatul, and Klara Hosnedlova in the main concourses of the Contemporary Arts Center. Dreamy surrealist paintings and small sculptures from Polish painter Tomasz Kowalski takes over the project space Swallow.
At Rupert, Lithuania’s prominent international artist residency, a group show curated by
Adomas Narkevičius features new works by Kosovo-born artist Flaka Haliti, Karol Radziszewski from Poland, and an artist collective consisting of Jaakko Pallasvuo, Miša Skalskis, Rachel McIntosh, and Stephen Webb—alongside two historically overlooked artists from Lithuanian’s postwar art scene, photographer Virgilijus Šonta and abstract painter Juta Čeičytė.
The Baltic Triennial 14: The Endless Frontier is on view until August 15, 2021. See images below.
Baltic Triennial 14 “The Endless Frontier.” Exhibition performance “Who are you?”, Žygimantas Kudirka and felicita at Atletika. Photo: Andrej Vasilenko.
Natalia LL at the Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius, for the Baltic Triennial 14 “The Endless Frontier.” Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.
Klara Hosnedlova at the Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius, for the Baltic Triennial 14 “The Endless Frontier.” Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.
Karol Radziszewski at the Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius, for the Baltic Triennial 14 “The Endless Frontier.” Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.
Flo Kasearu at the Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius, for the Baltic Triennial 14 “The Endless Frontier.” Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.
Works by Zuzanna Czebatul, Jura Shust, and Dominika Trapp at the Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius, for the Baltic Triennial 14 “The Endless Frontier.” Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.
Works by Flaka Haliti, Zsofia Keresztes, Czebatul, and Danutė-Kvietkevičiūtė at the Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius, for the Baltic Triennial 14 “The Endless Frontier.” Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.
Works by Agnieszka Polska and Voitech Kovarik at the Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius, for the Baltic Triennial 14 “The Endless Frontier.” Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.
Works by Emilija Skarnulyte Polska and Voitech Kovarik at the Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius, for the Baltic Triennial 14 “The Endless Frontier.” Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.
Alex Baczynski Jenkins at the Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius, for the Baltic Triennial 14 “The Endless Frontier.” Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.
Aleksandra Domanović at the Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius, for the Baltic Triennial 14 “The Endless Frontier.” Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.
Tomasz Kowalski at Swallow, as a part of the Baltic Triennial 14. Photo: Ugnius Gelguda
Tomasz Kowalski at Swallow, as a part of the Baltic Triennial 14. Photo: Ugnius Gelguda
Exhibition view, ‘Authority Incorporeal’, Rupert Centre for Art, Residencies and Education, 2021. Photo: Ugnius Gelguda
Jaakko Pallasvuo, Miša Skalskis, Rachel McIntosh, Stephen Webb Angels Instead (2020). Photo: Evgenia Levin
Žilvinas Dobilas, Jonas Zagorskas I was bored, (2000). Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.
Anni Puolakka “Feed” at Editorial, as a part of the Baltic Triennial 14. Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.
Anni Puolakka “Feed” at Editorial, as a part of the Baltic Triennial 14. Photo: Ugnius Gelguda.