10 september 2023, Wouter van den Eijkel
Breaking the logic – Vytautas Kumža’s playful yet sinister optical illusions
If Unseen is the place to see the latest developments in photography, then the work of Vytautas Kumža should not be missed. His work is in the spotlight right now and his latest photographic optical illusions, in which he breathes new life into everyday objects, have an edge, a grim undertone. Kumža is also increasingly exploring the possibilities of a more sculptural approach. Galerie Martin van Zomeren will be presenting Kumža’s latest work at Unseen.
Lost and Found
You stop and look. You lean forward to get a closer look, and then look again, and again. That is the effect of a trompe-l'oeil, the pinnacle of painting for centuries. You are tricked, taken for a ride, but want to solve the riddle by closely examining the panel in front of you. Lithuanian artist Vytautas Kumža successfully transfers this genre to photography. By toying with our powers of perception, he makes us rediscover everyday objects such as mirrors, brake cables, screws and shoe soles. He also adds sculptural aspects: a doorknob, cleat, cigarette or ribbed museum glass.
There is a remarkable difference with the trompe-l'oeils of yesteryear: the timbre. Whereas the old masters mockingly sent the viewer into the woods, Kumža's (1992) works are somewhat grimmer in tone. Kumža's solo show Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear, shown earlier this summer at Galerie Martin van Zomeren, explores a burglary scenario. It seems as if there are cracks in the glass window of the gallery and the first works you encounter as a visitor are reminiscent of a car accident or crime scene, such as the bag with strands of hair and a comb in Lost and Found.
Vytautas Kumža, Lost and Found, 2023, Galerie Martin van Zomeren
“All the works refer to the possibilities of changed scenarios in a space, they are like traces after someone had broken into the space and changed things,” says Kumža in the gallery. “In other works, however, there is a profound process that objects and situations go through in order to be opened up to new meanings and interpretations. That may seem violent, although it's just a way of not being too precious with materials and pushing them to the limit.”
M(annual)
The not too subtle handling of materials in order to arrive at new interpretations is clearly visible in a work like M(anual). In it, a photography yearbook from the 1960s is perforated, but in such a way that the holes are reminiscent of bullet holes. Kumža comments, “This work for me is a statement about photography: it's past and future. The violated vintage photography magazine almost reflects my attitude towards this media, wanting to leave the past behind and move on, exploring its boundaries and forgotten elements.”
Vytautas Kumža, M(annual), 2023, Galerie Martin van Zomeren
M(annual) features a doorknob on the glass of the frame. “The doorknob on this work presents a gesture of opening. Unfortunately, it's dysfunctional as a photograph in itself.” Kumža thereby leaves the flat surface, something he does often. On other works, he has applied a cleat with brake cables to the glass or a meat hook with shards of glass.
Kumža also toys with the museum glass in the frame. In a work like Wet, he has made holes identical to the ones in the glove in the photo. Brake cables run through those holes, as if they are wear marks from the lashing of the steel cables. A new development in Kumža’s work are the three works with ribbed glass. The glass seems to hint at a state of being, with the title sometimes suggesting this, as in Upside down. The circle-shaped waves in Marlboro Man can indicate the proverbial steam coming out of your ears or a sound wave or smoke coming towards you.
Vytautas Kumža, Marlboro Man, 2023, Galerie Martin van Zomeren
Kumža was inspired to try a more sculptural approach by fellow artist Gabriel Lester. During the pandemic, the Mondriaan Fund assigned Lester as a mentor to Kumža. “He made me realize that my practice could be extended to the physical world. That some constructions work better in front of the lens, where I control the viewer's point of view, while others have more impact by allowing a viewer to move around it,” says Kumža, pointing to the glass chairs covered with objects and pictures (Fragile chair #1 and #2).
Vytautas Kumža,Vytautas Kumža, Fragile chair #1, 2022, Galerie Martin van Zomeren
Breaking the logic
Kumža finds the everyday objects that appear in his work in second-hand shops close to his studio. They are so mundane and interchangeable that it is difficult to imagine that any other type of use is possible. By presenting them in a different context, Kumža tries to get us to take a new look at these objects. That is quite a task in our fleeting visual culture, hence the use of optical illusions. “I am trying to depict some sort of object-material situations and try to break their logic. In order to do that, I combine different materials or different objects, and I try to create a clash of positive-negative or soft and hard. At times it looks very violent, sometimes it looks funny. I also leave room for the viewer to decide in which scale they go. So, my work is also about the way people read images in today's world.”
Vytautas Kumža,Vytautas Kumža, Wet, 2023, Galerie Martin van Zomeren
From Vilnius to Amsterdam
In 2012, Vytautas Kumža was studying photography in Vilnius when he was given the opportunity to do an internship in Amsterdam with the well-known duo Blommers/Schumm. “It was a great gateway to a completely different photography scene than the one I was used to at the time. I learned a lot from them, both technically and conceptually. They also encouraged me to apply to the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, so that's where I ended up.”
Anyone who is familiar with the work of Blommers/Schumm will see traces of their approach in Kumža's work. Like the duo, Kumža works in a studio, stages his subjects and photographs them with great technical skill. The more conceptual approaches of the Rietveld Academy are also clearly visible because within that studio setting, Kumža manifests himself as an autonomous artist, as Kumža's explanation of M(annual) shows. “My technical experience was balanced with a conceptual approach which I've learned at the Rietveld (2014-2017). That's how my work developed. By using seductive lighting, I invite the viewer to come closer and with a conceptual approach to manipulate their perception.”
Consequently, Kumža does not consider himself primarily as a photographer, but more as an artist who uses photography to record what is happening in the studio. “To me, it is a means of documentation, because if you look at each individual work, there's a physical construction which is very sculptural, which only works in the front of lens.”
Vytautas Kumža, I kept on looking, 2023, Galerie Martin van Zomeren
Echo
In the past year, Kumža's career has really taken off. The year 2022 began with winning the prestigious NN Art Award at Art Rotterdam, followed by fairs such as the June Art Fair in Basel, Art Dubai, Enter Art Fair and Unfair, before closing the year with a home game: a solo exhibition in Vilnius, Lithuania. This summer, he had a solo exhibition Galerie Martin van Zomeren.
Kumža is currently busy preparing his solo exhibition ECHO at CODA in Apeldoorn, which will open during Unseen. He spends his days there in the archive, where they have a large collection with the most diverse historical objects: hammers, combs and coat hangers for gloves. In other words, historical versions of the everyday objects that appear in Kumža's work. “I like the fact that they are not typical art artifacts, but rather objects we used in the past. I’ll attempt to bring their memory back into contemporary discourse.” At Unseen, Galerie Martin van Zomeren will be showing new work related to ECHO.
