Aidas Bareikis (born October 4, 1967) is a

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n artist, currently working in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Bareikis studied at the

Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts The Vilnius Academy of Arts (, previously ''State Art Institute of Lithuania'') in Vilnius, Lithuania, grants a variety of degrees in the arts. History The Academy traces its roots back to the creation of the Architecture Department at Viln ...

between 1987 and 1992. His previous attempt at finishing art school in Vilnius was interrupted when he was drafted by the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

and sent to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, where he saw gunfighting, injured soldiers of war, and caskets, before inflicting delirium on himself through sleep deprivation and the inhalation of

graphite Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...

powder. In 1993 he received a scholarship and moved to America. Between 1993 and 1997 he studied at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, graduating with an MFA. In 2000 he exhibited at the Berlin Contemporary Art Center and at the Eleni Koroneou Gallery in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. In 2004 he showcased his artwork at the Miller Durazo Gallery in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He showed at Leo Koenig Gallery, and Happy Lion Gallery. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' describes his work as "sprawling, grotesque yet artfully color-coordinated messes of found objects, paint, wax, foam, plastic, scrap wood and many other materials. His installations have an impressive physical impact; but, with one exception, there is a formless one-note monotony about them."

References

1967 births Living people Artists from Vilnius Hunter College alumni Lithuanian expatriates in the United States Vilnius Academy of Arts alumni {{Lithuania-artist-stub

See also

References