Ricardas Blazukas » Kuwait

Spray Sound Mural

Ricardas — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 10:41:23 +0000

I was invited to do a mural for a ‘Spray Sound’ event that took place at Chili Pepper in Kuwait City on 25th November. ‘Happiness in Kuwait’ artwork was my donation to this charity event with all proceeds raised on the night donated to Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice (BACCH). Paint was sponsored by Montana Cans Kuwait.

The event was curated by Kuwaiti Architect and Artist Jassim Alnashmi.

Live music was provided by Al Hassan Brothers, whilst participating artists were:

Yours truly Ricardas Blazukas

Khalid Allahou

Abrar Allahou

Yousef Albagshi

Ahmed Bodham

Sulaiman Alzuhair

F160

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.

GCC: Global Culture Collision – Khaleejesque

Ricardas — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 18:13:24 +0000

My illustration for Noora Almusallam’s article ‘Global Culture Collision – coping with the want of modern and identity of the past’, Khaleejesque Magazine, The Industrial Issue #18, Nov/Dec 2015.

Khaleejesque is a thriving lifestyle and culture magazine that revolves around everything new, exciting and beautiful in the Arabian Gulf countries when it comes to the continuously evolving cultural scene.

Children of the Concrete Jungle

Ricardas — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 11:12:49 +0000

Ricardas Blazukas – Children of the Concrete Jungle

Recently, the company I am working for – Pace – sponsored an issue of T Square Architecture Magazine, which is run by architecture students from Kuwait University. This is already their 15th issue. They decided to look back at the past, hence the theme for this issue was ‘Nostalgia’. Pace architects, and myself amongst them, wrote a series of articles and essays based on Nostalgia theme.

My story is called ‘Children of the Concrete Jungle’, where I tell a story of what it was like growing up in Fabijoniskes social estate blocks in Vilnius, the capital city of post-communist Lithuania.

Images of the magazine and the spread can be seen below. In case the text is too small to read, please use ‘Ctrl and +’ or ‘Cmd and +’ to zoom in.

Interview with Bazaar Magazine Kuwait

Ricardas — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 15:17:53 +0000

Ricardas Blazukas: Geometry of Colour interview is out in Kuwait’s Bazaar Magazine June 2015 issue and online on http://bazaar.town .

See attached photos or read online here.

‘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.