Inge Gecas — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

Biography

I graduated from Vilnius Academy of Art in my hometown of Vilnius, Lithuania, where I had two personal exhibitions showing my oil and acrylic paintings and mixed media works on paper. Since moving to New York, I’ve studied and worked with print design and digital photography. I use my experience with all of these techniques, and studio tools and digital tools meld seamlessly in the finished artwork.

Artist Statement

My current body of work focuses on expressing the awareness of and deep empathy with nature and all its beings. I observe nature’s ways and explore patterns, colors and shapes, collecting natural objects and fragments to create intimate moments, narratives and emotions through the photography of staged scenes and compositions. I look to use painting in novel ways and experiment with different techniques to offer viewers a multi-dimensional experience. I work with traditional tools—pencils, paints, brushes and inks—as well as a camera, found objects, and natural light. Embracing natural materials, I look to uncover their character and invite a viewer to follow nature’s shapes, absorb the colors and feel the textures of these objects. Through the process of exposing them to light, color pigments, painting and drawing on them, and arranging them on surfaces, I aim to create tensions between the natural and the artificial and tell the story of survival and resilience.

What first prompted you to think of becoming an artist?

I was always drawing and painting and making objects such as greeting cards and giving them to people as presents. When I was 11, I asked my parents to enroll me in an art school. They were not involved in the arts so I researched arts schools and found where I wanted to go. I was eager to learn more about art and was excited to get accepted since art schools were free and highly competitive at that time. All my art studies and practices have had a great influence on who I am today as an artist. I am grateful to have a variety of tools and techniques at my disposal, to be able to express my ideas using any media I choose for the project.

What kind of an artist do you ultimately see yourself?

I am a visual artist, observing and reflecting on our changing environment. A new nature is my main subject. I want to learn more about new technologies. As In my work, old structures are abandoned for new connections between organic and non-organic forms through the process of symbiosis and transformation. I use new materials and objects for every new project.

What are you hoping to communicate to the viewer through your work?

I want to express the awareness of and deep empathy with nature and all its beings. Humans are spiritual beings and I strive to communicate that in my work.I also want to draw attention to simplicity itself as a way of thinking. It comes from my appreciation for the aesthetic principles of zen philosophy which over the years, have influenced my way of thinking. As things come and go, showing signs of their coming or going, and especially things that are on the verge of leaving, taking another form-- like a dry leaf-- besides being beautiful carry the idea of impermanence.

Can you explain the process of creating your work?

Every project has a different narrative. For example, one project began with going to the beach with my daughter who is now 11. It was just after the big storm and there was seaweed everywhere, many different kinds, I was mesmerized with the colors and shapes and started gathering it without even thinking, my daughter found a big jar and suggested that we bring it home in sea water to kept it “alive“, I loved the idea. I photographed it next day in a glass container floating on a light box, using studio lights in combination with a sunlight, trying to capture the floating movement. Painting came as a continuation of the photography. I painted to capture the moment, to keep it “alive” with the freshness and vibrancy of the paint strokes. For the last stage I bring my expertise as a digital artist and an architect to work on the compositions and final touches.

What is your favourite part of the creative process?

The process of photographing objects, while painting, pouring ink to create staged scenes and compositions, narratives and emotions. It is and exciting part of intuitive emotional exploration, forming visual ideas and capturing the inner beauty of objects.

Can you give us an insight into current projects and inspiration, or what we can look forward to from you in the near future

As I go through changes and struggles along with everyone else, I address them in my art organically by conceptualizing and abstracting them. I started making sculptural surfaces resembling reefs from white clay and trying to photograph them using different color lights, it feels like exploring the ocean floor. I want to learn diving and start photographing objects from under the sea. I am instantly drawn to things that need care and compassion.

Website http://www.ingegecas.com

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ingegecas/