Expatriate's art in Seimas: creativity is an experiment and freedom of expression

And now let's talk about relaxation topics with the author of the paintings - Akrolesta.

- How do you feel about the fact that your paintings ended up in such an unexpected place, in the Seimas of Lithuania?

- Why not? The deputies also need relaxation. Take a break from laws and numbers, plunge into the world of images and colors, expand the horizons of consciousness.

- Have you been to the Seimas before?

- To be honest, no. This is my first time in a government building. Somehow it was not necessary. It was scary at first. Such pathos and solemnity. Checking like in the airport. But then I relaxed.

Everyone around is polite, courteous. This cannot be compared to how my registration was checked in Moscow (I myself am from Chuvashia) when I was invited to a casting on television.

People from the Association of Business Immigrants helped to feel easy and comfortable. They came to support me. I saw everyone who came for the first time and knew only in absentia. I was pleased that the exhibition became an opportunity to bring communication to another level.

Circumstances required me to speak, but I wanted to listen more, learn the stories of other people. Among the immigrants, there are polyglots, people with three higher educations, talented designers. Each of us brings new experiences, knowledge, and features. It's like an additional ingredient or seasoning in the main dish that makes it better.

An immigrant is like a dandelion seed caught in the wind and landed in new lands. Sometimes you have to break through the asphalt and repeat to yourself: "I can!" Sometimes you feel like a weed among a flower garden. You remind yourself of a cactus. You prick because you are pricked. Immigrants are carbon, give time and we will turn into a diamond.

- Tell us a little about your collection. What does "relax art" mean?

- I invented Relax art as a way of meditation, removing templates and frames. A creative process for the soul that comes from the soul.

It's like jumping down a rabbit hole with Alice, making friends with the Little Prince and drawing boas that swallow an elephant.

I have no task to show familiar objects. Creativity is an experiment and freedom of expression. There is no room for condemnation, comparison and evaluation. This is a space for relaxation and meditation.

You may have heard of art therapy for which art is a way to help and heal. This is so important especially during a pandemic. A journey into the world of fantasy and colors, pacification, salvation from depression.

My paintings are like "dandelion wine", a childhood memory, a soft blanket or an ice cream cone.

- What style do your works belong to?

- A very interesting question. Probably, my critics will give a more accurate answer, as in the case of the Impressionists, who got their name after the criticism of Louis Leroy.

To be honest, I have already been called an expressionist, symbolist, primitivist, constructivist. I prefer an artist or a creator, because it does not create another frame, but gives a wide range of possibilities.

For me, art is a way of communication, it is a tool with which you can simply relax, or you can ask questions and provoke the viewer to look for answers. "RelaxArt" is just one of the directions. In addition, there is "JazzArt"- improvisation on the themes of classical artists. "SmartArt", the main task of which is to give the viewer food for thought. According to Descartes: "I think - it means I exist."

In my opinion, the main thing in the picture is the idea. It is good if it is clearly and beautifully presented, but this is not the most important thing. Physical formulas are rather laconic, but this does not prevent them from having weight and significance.

It's hard to talk about pictures. It is better to show and watch them. Critics will come up with their own interpretation, and the viewer will decide whether he likes it or not. And everyone will be right and wrong in their own way. And this is not the most important thing.

Art is valuable in itself. It expands the understanding of the world, allows you to see it not in black and white, but in rainbow colors and appreciate all the colors of the palette, even if you don't like some.

Kasparas Urbonaitis, DELFI EN, July 19, 2021
https://www.delfi.lt/en/culture/expatriates-art-in-seimas-creativity-is-an-experiment-and-freedom-of-expression.d?id=87733935