Prizes Awarded to the Best of the Art Fair ArtVilnius’24

The opening ceremony of the 15th International Contemporary Art Fair ArtVilnius’24 took place on Friday evening at the Litexpo Exhibition and Conference Centre. This year’s best were awarded in it. 

Starting Friday morning, the jury, headed by Andres Kreuger, curator, writer, and director of Kohta, a private art center in Helsinki founded on the initiative of the artists, chose the 7 best galleries of ArtVilnius’24, the best artist in the exhibition, the best young artist, and the best sculpture or installation of the fair. 

The jury also included art historian, critic, exhibition curator, professor at Vilnius Academy of Arts, the first ArtVilnius art director Prof. Dr. Raminta Jurėnaitė, book author, curator, art fair researcher Dr. Pacco Barragán from Madrid, Martis Manen, co-director of the Index Foundation and head of the CuratorLab advanced curatorial course from Stockholm, and Žaneta Fomova, art collector, art patron, and founder of the JCDecaux Prize exhibition series. 

Prizes awarded to the best artists 

The jury awarded the title of the best ArtVilnius’24 artist to Eglė Gineitytė, a painter presented at the fair by The Room Gallery, for her coherent vision of painting that has matured over several decades. The artist will also receive a prize of €3,000 from Crème de la Crème, the high-end perfumery brand. 

The best installation of ArtVilnius’24 is the sculpture For Sale (Parduodama), one of the participants of The Path, placed next to Litexpo, created by Danas Aleksa, a conceptual interdisciplinary artist. The jury praised this work for its poignant commentary on urban renewal, highlighting the specific aesthetics of Vilnius. The author of the best sculpture was awarded a prize of €2,000 by Nescafé Dolce Gusto, the fair’s sponsor. 

The Best Young Artist Award, traditionally awarded by ArtVilnius’ Maecenas, the law firm Cobalt, went to the New York-based Italian artist Rachele Libeskind. Her work, presented by the Düsseldorf gallery wildpalms, is marked by a poetic articulation of archival material and visual space. The artist will receive a nomination certificate and a cash prize of €2,000.

Top 7 galleries awarded

The 7 best galleries of ArtVilnius’24 were also announced on the opening night. The jury members appreciated their vibrant programs and well-crafted, well-thought-out exhibitions. 

According to the chairman of the jury, A. Kreuger, the Antanas Sutkus Photographic Archive is a classic presentation of the master’s work. “It is obvious that the high quality must be celebrated,” said the chairman of the jury. 

In Dot Gallery was singled out for its presentation of the talented Lithuanian painter Viktoras Paukštelis. “What this gallery shows is convincing in its visuality,” said Kreuger.  The Latvian Academy of Arts’ Pilot Gallery was mentioned among the winners for its spacious, interesting installation of the collection. 

The jury also praised the GODÒ Gallery in Vilnius Užupis district for its compact and compelling composition of colorful paintings.  Māksla XO, one of Riga’s most renowned and popular contemporary art galleries, was awarded for its visually appealing presentation of prints and paintings, and its less frequently exhibited Latvian artists. 

The Room Gallery has, in the jury’s opinion, prepared a very convincing presentation of Lithuanian art from different generations for ArtVilnius’24, and has shown high-quality works to the visitors of the fair.  wildpalms, a gallery from Düsseldorf representing various artists from Latin America, Canada, and the United States, was awarded for its elegant presentation of interesting and previously unseen artists from Lithuania. 

The fair continues on Saturday and Sunday 

The center’s three main halls and the outside area of 12,000 square meters are hosting 80 art galleries and institutions and 300 artists from 14 countries. The organizers and curators of the International Contemporary Art Fair ArtVilnius’24 have prepared an extensive program of discussions and education for the fair visitors.  The main ArtVilnius’24 gallery program and stands are located in Halls 5 and 3 of Litexpo.

The international exhibition of sculptures, installations, and performances The Path, curated by Maria Arusoo, the head of the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art, has selected 17 artists for the exhibition The Path.  Dr. Valentinas Klimašauskas, a curator of contemporary art and writer, called the program of this year’s ArtVilnius’24 international fair’s Project Zone Agency: of Mice, Scene, and Machines. 

Visitors will be able to vote for their favorite artist and gallery throughout the fair. “On Sunday, the Art Vilnius’24 Audience Select Artist and Audience Select Gallery will be awarded the Volfas Engelman Prize in the ArtVilnius Talk studio. 

The ArtVilnius’24 Contemporary Art Fair is organized by the Lithuanian Art Gallerists’ Association. The fair’s director is Diana Stomienė, artistic director – Sonata Baliuckaitė. ArtVilnius’24 is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and patronized by Vilnius City Municipality. The Maecenas is the law firm COBALT and the main partner is the Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Centre Litexpo.