Ricardas Blazukas » geometry

Kuwait City Street Art Mural

Ricardas — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 07:59:16 +0000

Street Art Kuwait – Ricardas Blazukas

Back in April 2016 I worked on a street art mural in Kuwait City on Mubarak Al Kabeer Street.

It is a topography piece with a positive thought on Kuwait – from oil to bright future. Thanks to Jedareyat for the opportunity and KNPC for sponsoring the creation of the piece.

Ricardas Blazukas – The Man Behind The Artist – Khaleejesque

Ricardas — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 07:01:40 +0000

Recently, I was interviewed by Khaleejesque Magazine’s B. N. Bassam about my approach to art, arabic inspirations and more.

Ricardas Blazukas – The Man Behind The Artist.

Khaleejesque Magazine, The Industrial Issue #18, November – December 2015.

The spread is attached below.

‘Geometry of Colour’ Exhibition

Ricardas — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 20:02:54 +0000

Ricardas Blazukas – ‘Geometry of Colour’ opened on 11th May 2015 and continued until 4th June 2015 at Almakan in Kuwait City.

‘Geometry of Colour’ is a selection of Ricardas Blazukas’ abstract paintings, hand sketches, cast sculptures and a neon installation – all exploring the relationship of simple form and colour. The exhibited series of work is only a small number of carefully chosen artwork from various collections, which Ricardas produced in his artistic career: ‘Intuitive Geometry’ (2014-2015), ‘Notational Alphabet’ (2013-2015), ‘I Ching Chance Compositions’ (2013-2015) and ‘Pyramid Sculptures’ (2012-2015). This collection of work summarizes the two subjects that Ricardas is most passionate about – geometry and colour. Each collection is highly influenced by Ricardas’ love for typography, graffiti, architecture and sculptural form. Combining these elements together with various art techniques Ricardas was able to create a visual collection of work, which is open to viewers interpretation.

Opening night photographs can be found on my previous blog post here.

‘Geometry of Colour’ Opening Night

Ricardas — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 19:45:07 +0000

Ricardas Blazukas – ’Geometry of Colour’ exhibition at Almakan in Kuwait City opened on 11th May 2015 and continued until 4th June 2015.

Photographs by Jassim Al Nashmi.

Photographs of the gallery can be found on my next blog post here.

Description of the exhibition

‘Intuitive Geometry’ 2014-2015

‘Intuitive Geometry’ is Ricardas’ most recent body of work consisting of paintings, which he started and developed after his move to Kuwait in 2014. ‘Intuitive Geometry’ was mostly inspired by his earlier set of ‘I Ching’ chance experiments and their results, which Ricardas interpreted to establish geometry, scale and colour combinations for his new series. Ricardas’ extensive development of hand sketched elements produced in ‘I Ching’ compositions led him to a series of variously scaled, simple geometries complemented by unexpected and instinctive colour choices.

‘Notational Alphabet’ 2013-2015

‘Notational Alphabet’ is a set of 24 geometry compositions represented through three-dimensional form, letters and symbols in an attempt to create a notational system / symbolic alphabet. The alphabet was developed digitally by using four basic geometrical shapes: a square, a circle, a triangle and a rectangle, in order to create a variety of combinations complemented by colour. The study was then transformed into a series of handwritten letters, graphic symbols and sculptures. Through paintings and sculpture of the alphabet Ricardas aims to focus on each symbol individually in order to emphasize the presence of a simple form.

‘I Ching Chance Compositions’ 2013-2015

‘I Ching’ also known as the ‘Book of Changes’ is an ancient book of chance – the oldest of the Chinese classics, which provides 64 answers / hexagrams to any given question. Inspired by John Cage and his use of ‘I Ching’ in the ‘Music of Changes’, Ricardas created four composition charts consisting of 64 geometrical shapes, quantities, scale types and colours. Each of 64 I Ching hexagrams were assigned to the composition charts. Using ‘I Ching’ as an oracle Ricardas asked questions:

How many shapes to use in the composition? What is each shape?
What is the colour of each shape?
What is the scale of each shape?

This process of uncontrollable selection enabled Ricardas to create a series of chance compositions, which were then reproduced into a series of large and small scale paintings.

‘Pyramid Sculptures’ 2012-2015

Ricardas created his first ‘Pyramid Sculptures’ during his Masters of Architecture degree in London in 2012. Inspired by Roman Baroque Architect Francesco Borromini’s use of geometry and symmetry, Ricardas designed geometrical compositions in two dimensions, which were then transformed into three-dimensional objects and architectural spaces. During this development process Ricardas created triangular sculptures of various scales, shapes and materials. Amongst all produced pieces, the most notable are colourful ‘Pyramid Tiles’, which received attention from Saatchi Art curators and were consecutively featured on Saatchi Art Online Collections, such as: ‘Spotlight on the UK for Frieze Week’, ‘Art Objects’ and ‘Radical Geometry’.

Painting in Kuwait – Notational Alphabet

Ricardas — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 09:08:45 +0000

This post is dedicated to the second series of paintings that I am working on since my relocation to Kuwait.

This one is called ‘Notational Alphabet’. These geometrical compositions of squares, circles and triangles were developed in the process of creating an actual written alphabet. The alphabet can be found in my previous posts by clicking here and / or here.

The alphabet symbols were also explored through sculpture and these can be seen in the previous posts by clicking here ’Alphabet Models’ and ‘Miniature Alphabet Models’ here.

Painting in Kuwait – I Ching Chance Compositions

Ricardas — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 08:12:34 +0000

Since my relocation to Kuwait I’ve been eager to keep creative during my spare time. Initially considering getting a small kiln and a potter’s wheel I ended up getting paint and canvas. Eventually I’ll get back to ceramics, but for now I’m keeping busy reproducing some of my previous works as paintings.

Currently, I am working on a number of series, but in this post I’ll be sharing some shots of the I Ching Chance Compositions.

This paintings are reproductions of a digital study of geometric chance compositions made consulting the book of chance I Ching.

The paintings in this post are Compositions No. 4 and 5.

The full explanation of these chance compositions can be found on my earlier post by clicking here.

Monumental Pissoir for Marrakech

Ricardas — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 09:05:16 +0000

Monumental Pissoir is a design proposal for public toilets for men in the Medina of Marrakech. The structure functioning as an inhabitable column or as a free standing object.

The proposal is a response to the Seven Towers of Seven Saints square in Marrakech. The square built in 2005 was since neglected – currently and predominantly used by locals as a public dump. Squatting, peeing and even glue-sniffing Morocans can be seen there at any time of day. The picture gallery below deomonstrates the square in its current state.

The ‘monumentality’ of the pissoir is inspired by Moroccan culture – colours, ceramics and vernacular living. The architecture of the pissoir is composed of handmade interlocking ceramic components. The pictured model / sculpture below is scale 1:5:

The ceramic components were hand made using a laser-cut mould and then fired in a self made raku kiln:

The interlocking components have a simple yet flexible geometry, which allows to create various interlocking patterns:

Feature in Blueprint Magazine – Class of 2014

Ricardas — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 16:23:17 +0000

I was fortunate to have my work selected to feature in Blueprint Magazine’s Pick Of The Graduate Shows 2014! The ‘Monumental Pissoir’ was part of the ‘Ceramic Quarter in Marrakech’ project which I did at Design Studio 15 at Westminster University. The ceramic pissoir is composed of handmade interlocking ceramic components, the pictured model / sculpture is scale 1:5.

Eddie Blake, an architect and founding member of Studio Weave, wrote about my work:

“Blazukas’ experiments with firing clay in a variety of his own self-built kilns are beautiful objects in their own right. His ceramics reflect such a deft touch, and an instinctive response to material.

The reason they are worth writing about is that they feed perfectly into a really well-developed design proposal for a ceramics complex in Marrakech. Blazukas obviously really grappled with the brief, and it dealt him a few heavy blows, but he followed it well and the results are beautiful. His drawings are only outshone by his ceramics.”

This article was also posted on Design Curial website, can be found by clicking here.

More about the ‘Monumental Pissoir’ that can be found in my Marrakech project portfolio here.

Woven Typography – DS15

Ricardas — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 12:39:48 +0000

This woven text sign was a design I did with my coursemates Tim Waines and Piotr Garstecki for Design Studio 15 End of Year Exhibition at Westminster University in July 2014.

The same typography that I developed for the ‘here comes everybody‘ ceramic piece was applied to create this woven DS15 sign.

Ceramic Typography – here comes everybody

Ricardas — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 11:59:10 +0000

This ceramic typography sign was a design I did for Design Studio 15 End of Year Exhibition at Westminster University in July 2014.

The typography of the sign as well as its aesthetic quality was designed using chance techniques. The letters are assembled out of small hand-pressed interconnecting clay components. Raku method of firing ceramics was used as a generator of chance in producing the unexpected aesthetic of glazes. The result of the experiment is typography with fascinating variety of colours and textures.

Thanks to Tim Waines and Piotr Garstecki for their huge contribution on this piece.