by Dalia KARATAJIENĖ
Exhibition at Baroti Gallery, Klaipeda, Lithuania 2023
Magic spell and a keyword: Macula Lutea
Unlike paintings or graphics, tapestries are less frequently displayed in gallery and exhibition hall spaces. Therefore, the tapestry exhibition of textile artist Kristina Austi, which was opened on July 14th in the Baroti Gallery in Klaipėda, can be considered a rarity. During the 30 years of the gallery's operation, "Macula Lutea" is the third tapestry exhibition, attracting viewers not only with the works themselves but also with its unheard-of title. K. Austi, the author of the exhibition, revealing the meaning of the title (lat. macula lutea – yellow spot), also notices the peculiar sound of this Latin phrase, reminiscent of a magic spell. However, as we will see, this title is also an emotional keyword for the meanings of the works.
Digital Jacquard
K. Austi is an artist born in Klaipėda who obtained her professional artist's diploma in Bergen, Norway, where she currently lives, working as a designer in a textile factory. Kristina's works are exhibited in textile exhibitions held in Norway, Lithuania, and other European countries and as public art in public institutions. For instance, in the public school of the city of Narvik, there hang impressive-sized tapestries created by Kristina in 2021 named "Disintegration" and "Twins". Unlike the abstractions displayed in the Baroti gallery, these are figurative. More precisely – they are portraits: the artist used her daughter's facial features for these. When discussing a motif shaped by weaving, such an image as a realistically modelled portrait appears to be an absolute miracle.
The path to complex motif weaving possibilities was opened in the early 19th century in France when Joseph Marie Jacquard discovered looms that are still named after him, as are the fabrics woven by them. Jacquard looms accelerated and simplified the weaving of depicted fabrics, allowing the warp thread to be controlled with punch cards. Today, digital technologies have further expanded weaving possibilities. Kristina's works are indeed executed using digital Jacquard weaving methods. Kristina views digital technologies, which are known to penetrate the textile space and other art fields, positively. She interprets them not as a threat to creativity, but on the contrary – she sees a profound chance for creative expression in them.
With a Personal Imprint
Aesthetician Vosylius Sezemanas, examining the aesthetic values of work, argued that an artist's thoughts, feelings, and conjectures acquire aesthetic significance not only because they are embodied in his created works. They become significant when they lead viewers in a specific direction and become part of the viewer's perception act. In other words, when an artist's thoughts, ideas, and experienced states become an inner guide directing the viewers' gaze. So, where does the artist lead our senses?
Macula Lutea, or the yellow spot, is a location in the centre of the eye's retina, ensuring sharp vision in daylight. V. Sezemanas is one of many aesthetics researchers to state that where an artist doesn't imprint his personality, one can't talk about the originality and value of an artwork. Kristina has the right to "stamp" her works with the imprint of the yellow spot.
This is due to her personal experiences with her unique vision. Thus, the enchanting title of the exhibition, when looking at Kristina's works, immediately becomes a guidepost, indicating what we should sense as embodied in the artist's tapestries. After all, when we talk about vision, we remember experiences when, after closing our eyes, we still see strangely flashing curves, rays of light, dots, or squares for a while. Very similar to those we see in Kristina's works.
Play of Visuals
In reality, Kristina challenges the authenticity of seeing with her works. She claimed that vision is merely a play of light and colour, too complex waves passing through our eyes and nerve cells. In her works, Kristina says she wants to detach from language and look at objects and the environment as if she didn't know any words. When objects diverge from their tangible forms, when there's a lack of words to name these new shapes, it means that, in terms of genre, we're dealing with abstraction. And abstraction, no matter how it is related to reality, no matter which clues in it we should use to see something familiar, is still not that reality. In the case of Kristina's works, the yellow spot speaks more about her sources of inspiration and her moods, and, as Kristina herself said, is a play of visuals. A play that invites the viewers to engage, seeing her woven stairs in one way or another. Kristina suggests experiencing the state of closing one's eyes in one way or another.
Kristina's works first involve us in this decorative game of intrigue through a lively and constantly changing rhythm that doesn't let the gaze become indifferent. On the other hand, the artist utilizes the emotionally impactful possibilities of colour. Sometimes using colour contrasts as in the first part of "Stairs", sometimes working with an almost monochrome confrontation of light and darkness as in the works "Closed Eyes I" and "Closed Eyes II". She also employs delicate colour nuances, akin to plants absorbing light, which become especially close to our gazes, pleasantly resting our eyes. This subtle almost organically felt structural and colour play of the works is the artist's way of communicating with us.
It's evident that the artist's sensitive yet commanding visual conversation with the audience is personal. Therefore, exhibition visitors have a unique opportunity to revel in a new acquaintance, influenced by K. Austi's stylistic allure, and to rely on their artistic perception accomplishments.Published in DURYS, Culture and Art magazine for city of Klaipeda, July 2023
(translation from Lithuanian by Chat GPT)
Original text in Lithuanian you can find here.