Signs of limited visibility not only on the road

Most of the first paragraphs are trying to crash. to crack – To break, to break) the titles of exhibitions as if they were trying to open their inner code. Currently, I am trying to understand the meaning of the name of the Victorian Kemel exhibition « Limited Visibility II » on display in the Gallery « Customs ». But what will you explain here? At least in the Road Traffic Code, everything is clear: limited visibility occurs when there is fog, when they rise uphill, at intersections, crossings. It is defined, regulated, understandable to everyone. What if we tried to apply this term to art? Perhaps « limited visibility » here becomes a metaphor not only for physical conditions, but also for emotional, psychological or even cognitive barriers?

Photo by organizers

Looking at the space after a few minutes, you begin to understand the artist and her style of painting – at the V. Kemekle Exhibition the works have been created in the Master’s studies. The author explores the intersection of the true and fake image, when images of the subconscious mind act as unreliable sources. V. The color palette of V. Kemeklis does not mix many colors – dark, almost black -rich colors prevail, which are enriched with brighter green or orange shades in some places.

The first piece presenting the exhibition is « (not) safe » (2025). It is unsafe when you see the overgrown glass covering baobabs in a blue -lit room that resembles the club’s environment. You start to feel like a dream where you have seen those images from different situations, but they all come together. At the end of the dream trip, I move to reality, but still through the haze. The eye -catching motif reminds you of collisions with everyday life – late at night in the driver’s seat, looking at the grunt road, seeing the alarmed lights or even seeing the main road signs due to bright car lights.

The painting « My Faith in You. » Photo by organizers

The « My Faith in You » figure (2024) reflects even my experience in front of a driver with bad vision. When the work comes closer to the work, the details of the artist begin to emerge – the work is painted from left to right, and the texture begins to resemble the denim fabric.

Bypassing only a third of the exhibition, you understand what the exhibition will be, what repeated motives or color will be. The works « 7 meters underground » (2024) and « Witching Hour » (2024) are repeated with the above paintings, with a more exciting « Wait Star » (2024), where the author includes orange and red in the entire exhibition concept,

The painting « Witching Hour ». Photo by organizers

I like when the paintings speak and beyond the canvas, thereby extending the conversation with the viewer. Looking at the piece you are involved in a spiral of hypnosis, it takes longer than the scheduled time of the exhibition. However, the most surprised and intellectually forced the strokes, « I’m not a robot » (2024). Maybe that day I was not working on the technical regime of the critic, but with this work I was fascinated and « caught my faces ». For a short time, I thought that the exhibition could be more illuminated or highlighted by special paint, making them brighter and more noticeable. However, it would also deprive them of the original playfulness that is right now.

The painting (not) is safe. Photo by organizers

I liked how the author emphasized that the limited vision area was defined by the sides of the canvas. However, in my opinion, it is necessary to paint the edges of the painting – without leaving their whites to move to the unlimited thinking space. It is like an extension of the artist’s history, idea or vision. Leaving the white edges, the painting begins to resemble a flat postcard, which you expect to find a few handwritten lines – maybe a letter to your mom. Meanwhile, the edges painted give the work continuity – it is no longer limited to frame, but encourages the viewer to extend the story, to engage and to create a personal end.

While traveling through the exhibition and reading the description of the exhibition, I noticed that younger generation artists like to talk about their daily routine, which, as if, is less memorable, quickly disappearing from the horizons until we guess several moments in memory. However, such images are already becoming a small trend and unifying. The purpose of V. Kemekliai exhibition is to allow viewers to see the same images you once saw, to feel some sense of nostalgia, household or even security. However, the emotional influence the artist seeks to convey may not achieve everyone.

Painting from V. Kemeklė Exhibition « Limited visibility II ». Photo by organizers

V. Kemekli exhibition « Limited visibility II » is distinguished by a strong atmosphere and poetics of personal visuals. However, in some places the author remains in aesthetically familiar, safe area, within the limits of already tested forms. Some pieces, such as « I am not a robot » or « The Handle Star », bring life and conceptual tension, but in this context they are more like the signs of a future, just maturing cycle. The metaphor for limited visibility is sometimes conveyed too straight, thus not using its potential to create more ambiguous narrative. However, such exhibitions are important steps: they allow new ideas to be developed, rethinking existing ones and some to reject.

Who? V. Kemekliai Exhibition « Limited visibility II ».

Where? Art Gallery Customs (Muitinės g. 2).

When? Operating until May 16th.