Zilvinas Kempinas: Tube at Venice Biennale 2009

http://www.vernissage.tv | Opening reception of the exhibition Žilvinas Kempinas : Tube at the Lithuanian Pavilion (location: Scuola Grande della Misericordia) of the 53rd International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia in Venice, Italy. Žilvinas Kempinas is widely recognized for his bold use of videotape as a sculptural medium. This large-scale installation, TUBE (created at the Atelier Calder, Saché, France), resonates with the environment of the floating city and creates a space where vision and movement are linked by means of the body. TUBE addresses the physical and optical experiences of the viewer, and the passage of time, while creating the feeling of being inside and outside simultaneously. One can describe TUBE metaphorically or geometrically but to be appreciated it must be experienced directly. No image can convey the gradual accumulation of sensory experiences awaiting visitors who pass through the translucent tunnel of parallel lines. Kempinas changes the function of magnetic tape from an information carrier to a linear map of time and space. Žilvinas Kempinas was born in 1969 in Plungė, Lithuania. He lives and works in New York. Solo exhibitions: Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2008); Le Grand Café, Saint-Nazaire, France (2008); Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius (2007); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2006); P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York (2003); Spencer Brownstone Gallery, New York (2004, 2006, 2007).