Zilvinas Kempinas
Žilvinas Kempinas (born in 1969 in Lithuania) is an artist who lives and works in New York City. In his installations invisible forces of gravity and air circulation animate architectural space reshaping it into a totally new environment. He uses unspooled videotape and electric fans to conjure transfixing visual conundrums such as 'Flying Tape' (2004), which levitated a room-size loop of video tape on the air currents from a circle of fans; and 'White Noise' (2007), which recreated a monumental kinetic screen of 'white noise' on the gallery wall. Kempinas has exhibited in major galleries and museums around the world including at the Kunsthalle Wien, Austria, the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius, Lithuania (2007), the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, P.S.1 in New York (2003), the Nam June Paik Art Center in Yongin/Seoul, Manifesta 7 in Bolzano (2008); and at SFMOMA. In 2007, Kempinas was awarded the Calder Prize and Atelier Calder residency. In 2009, he represented Lithuania at the 53rd Venice Biennale. Kempinas has been using magnetic tape since the beginning of this decade to construct monumental yet fragile spaces of experience. Playful gestures and geometric clarity are equally important. His artistic practice is based on recycling the principles of minimal, abstract, op art and kinetic art in the post-medium condition.