Artist Ruta Butkute

Bound

Bound #2, 2023 / porcelain, aliuminium, plexiglass
87h x 200w x 15d cm

Bound #2, 2023 / porcelain, aliuminium, plexiglass
87h x 200w x 15d cm

Bound #1, 2023 / porcelain, aluminium, plexi glass drawing, tv screen (video ‘states & drives)
350h 210w x  20d cm

Bound #1, 2023 /wall installation, aluminum, porcelain, tv screen, 265 x 265 x 25 cm

Bound #1, 2023 /wall installation, aluminum, porcelain, tv screen, 265 x 265 x 25 cm

Bound #3, 2023 /porcelain, 50 cm

Bound #1, 2023 / porcelain, aluminium, plexi glass drawing, tv screen (video ‘states & drives)
350h 210w x  20d cm

Bound, installation/ 2023, mixed medium: porcelain, aluminium shelves, aluminium, plexi glass sheets, tv screen (video ‘states & drives’).

Exhibitions (2023): The Alchemy of Abstraction, duo exhibition (akmar & ruta Butkute), Bradwolff Projects Amsterdam / Bound, installation, Movement Exposed gallery, Utrecht / Turbulentie, Omstand Arnhem, NL

Ruta Butkute’s sculptural choreographic research forms at once the basis and connection between the various media she works with: sculpture, video, ceramics and performance. She currently experiments with porcelain as a medium for painting. Several recent works were created during a residency at EKWC (European Ceramic Work Centre) in Oisterwijk.  With the exhibition Bound Ruta Butkute is presenting a range of porcelain paintings, multi media installation and performance videos. The exhibition is realised in collaboration with Bradwolff & Partners. https://me-galleryspace.com/bound-ruta-butkute-3/

The project ‘how materials become concepts’ (2023) supported by: stichting niemeijer fonds, stichting stokroos (hanzenfonds of the prins bernhard cultuurfonds), amsterdam fonds voor de kunst (afk), amarte fonds, bradwolff projects amsterdam, NL / photo credits: LNDWstudio

the alchemy of abstraction / duo exhibition (akmar & ruta Butkute), 2023, Bradwolff Projects Amsterdam

The works of Ruta Butkute and akmar come together in the duo exhibition ‘The Alchemy of Abstraction’ This meeting showcases two artists who each in their own way explore the boundaries of artistic expression, in different disciplines and with different materials. Ruta Butkute is known for her sculptural choreographic research and has embarked on a project exploring porcelain as a medium for painting. These monumental “paintings,” combined with a multimedia installation titled “Bound,” push the boundaries of artistic expression. She meticulously experiments with porcelain and within it the possibilities of movement, transformation, fracture, melting, shrinkage, expansion and solidity. By distinguishing between accidental events and intentional results, Butkute aims to perceive the creation of materiality in a new way. By setting the material in motion and guiding its transformation into new forms, Butkute’s body becomes like an imprint on the clay, reflecting every action of her hands. Butkute sees the creation of sculpture as a process that emerges from bodily actions in spaces, as well as from architectural relationships that inspire movement and sculpture.

akmar is, a multidisciplinary artist who delves into various forms of art, from computer generated videos to physical sculptures. akmar questions the ambiguïty of reality. She explores diverse manifestations of matter and seeks to uncover the essence of pure self-expression.akmar continuously challenges herself by embracing unfamiliar materials and deconstructing objects to see them in a new light. The artist finds beauty in dysfunctionality and appreciates items that have lost their defined role due to age fashion or other factors. By selecting outdated software, remaining materials, and personal artifacts from her history, such as generations- worn fur coats or drawings from childhood to present, akmar repurposes these elements in new works. Her art embraces the concept that everything is in a constant state of change and transformation, without imposing political or activist judgments. Instead, she allows the materials to speak for themselves, creating a space for them to express their inherent qualities.

‘The Alchemy of Abstraction’ brings together the works of Butkute and akmar in an exhibition that focuses on abstraction, the transformation of matter, and the exploration of reality. The synergy between these two artists creates a unique dynamic and invites the audience on a journey of discovery and wonder.

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Direct me to the centre of gravity

Direct me to the centre of gravity, 2021 / installation, mixed medium, intercative objects, text prints, 1400 x 850 x 350 cm

Direct me to the centre of gravity, 2021 / installation, mixed medium, intercative objects, text prints, 1400 x 850 x 350 cm

Tumble #2, 2021 / ceramics, steel tube, wood,
77 x 68 x 68 cm

Let your body do all the talking, 2021 / interactive sculpture 

Tumble #3, 2021 / ceramics, 13 x 113 x 5 cm

Let your body do all the talking, 2021 / interactive sculpture 

Tumble #1, 2020 / ceramics, steel tube, aluminum
100d x 78w x 47h cm

Tumble #1, 2020 / ceramics, steel tube, aluminum, text
100d x 78w x 47h cm

Let your body do all the talking interactive installation and performance/ exhibition ‘Direct me to the centre of gravity’, 2021, 1600 x 800 x 400 cm, mixed media: ceramics, wood, steel tubes, ready-mades, text stickers, plexi glass, Arti & Amicitiae

The project documented in the book ‘How To Make Sculpture Move’, published by Jap Sam Books 2022) / support of the Mondriaan Fund, Jaap Harten Fonds, Tijl Fonds/Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and the Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst / photo credits: Natalia Sudova

A collaboration between artist Ruta Butkute and writer Emily Kocken. The project puts language and objects in a dynamic dialogue, creating new functions for audience and performer ‘ The audience is allowed to touch the sculpture’, in the context of an art exhibition, live performances, moderated talks, and readings. The performative sculptures created by Ruta Butkute, which she defines as ‘furniture abstractions’, built from ready-mades. The exhibition space becomes interactive via a series of choreographed sculpture performances. The audience will be invited to touch sculptural objects and make them move while performance is absent.

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How to make sculpture move

First Quarter, 2022 / porcelain

How to make sculpture move, 2022/ installation view

How to make sculpture move, 2022/ installation view: video ‘let your body do all the talking’

Tumble #1, 2020 / ceramics, steel tube, aluminum
100d x 78w x 47h cm

First Quarter #1, 2022 / porcelain, 47 cm

How to make sculpture move, 2022/ installation view

First Quarter #1, 2022 / porcelain, 47 cm

Waxing Crescent #1, 2022/ porcelain, 47 cm

How to make sculpture move installation / book launch  (a collaboration between artist Ruta Butkute and writer Emily Kocken), 2022,  mixed media: ceramics, wood, porcelain, ready-mades, text stickers, plexi glass, Bradwolff Projects Amsterdam in Collaboration with Jap Sam Books

Book ‘How To Make Sculpture Move’, published by Jap Sam Books 2022) / support of the Mondriaan Fund, Jaap Harten Fonds, Tijl Fonds/Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and the Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst / photo credits: Natalia Sudova

The 1st of July Bradwolff Projects will present the exhibition and publication of How to make sculpture move by Ruta Butkute and Emily Kocken. They collaborated together with Jap Sam Books and designer Eva van der Schanson this special format. The central idea to the work is Butkute’s artistic practice, which has evolved around the performative approach of objects and architecture. Her unique view of her environment and how she translates this into visual work are the basis for the publication and exhibition.

Emily Kocken is a writer and has published novels, essays and short stories. In the text she reflects on Butkute’s artwork and together their contributions become a unique whole that revolves around the questions Butkute asks in her work. In her installations she playfully questions spaces and how we can look at objects around us and relate to them. Performativity is a keyword in her practice, each object plays its own role in her installations. She is looking for the meaning and origin of her materials and shapes.

tumble

Tumble #3, 2021 / wall installation, ceramics
113w x 13d x 5h cm

Tumble #3, 2021 / wall installation, ceramics
113w x 13d x 5h cm

Tumble #1, 2021 / ceramics, steel tube, 
100d x 78w x 47h cm

Tumble #1, 2021 / ceramics, steel tube, aluminum
100d x 78w x 47h cm

Float Indirect Light, 2020 /paper porcelain

55 x 135 cm

 

Tumble, 2021, sculpture research (studio practice Amsterdam and Guldagergaard international ceramic center, Skealskor, DK 2019)/ media: porcelain, ceramics, ready-mades, (some of the ‘Tumble’ sculptures installed as part of ‘Direct me to the centre of gravity’ exhibition) / supported by Mondriaan Fonds and Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst  / photo credits: Franz Mueller Schmidt

 Bradwolff & Partners gallery Amsterdam / Art Rotterdam  & Movement Exposed Gallery Space https://me-galleryspace.com
 www.bradwolff-partners.nl

Met de expositie Tumble toont Ruta Butkute een sculpturale installatie en performance video bij Movement Exposed Gallery Space. ‘Hoe kunnen lichamen objecten tot leven brengen? Hoe kunnen objecten lichamen in beweging brengen?’ Deze vragen vormen de kern van het artistieke onderzoek van Ruta Butkute waarvoor zij zich liet inspireren door de bewegingsleer van danspionier Rudolf Laban. 

Butkute is geïnteresseerd hoe een medium in een ander medium kan transformeren. Door met ready-mades als stoelen te werken en deze te ontdoen van de oorspronkelijke functie en herkenbaarheid, ontstaat een nieuwe, pure functie. Gemaakt van metaal en klei combineren haar sculpturen twee contragewichten die als mysterieuze vormen op elkaar inwerken. Ruimtelijke en relationele aspecten winnen steeds meer aan belang als aanvulling op de materiële en fysieke kenmerken in haar werk. Ruta Butkute nodigt de toeschouwer uit om de mogelijkheden van de ruimtelijke installatie bij MEGS te ontdekken, door fysiek te denken en door het lichaam te laten ervaren.

 

De expositie Tumble bij Movement Exposed Gallery Space komt tot stand in samenwerking met Bradwolff & Partners.

Two Bowlines(under a strain)

Two Bowlines (under a strain), 2015 / installation
880d x 620w x 250h cm

Two Bowlines (under a strain), 2015 / installation
380d x 280w x 250h cm
Two Bowlines (under a strain), 2015 / installation
250d x 280w x 250h cm
Two Bowlines (under a strain), 2015 / installation
250d x 180w x 60h cm

Two Bowlines (under a strain)/ Equilibrate, 2015 / video performance

Two Bowlines (under a strain), 2015, 880d x 620w x 250h cm, installation, mixed media: ceramics, porcelain, wood, metal, aluminum, foam, rubber mats, plexi glass, tv screens, ready mades, Rijksakademie Open Amsterdam
supported by Mondriaan Fonds, Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten / photo credits: Gert Jan van Rooij

Array

Array, 2018 / installation
150w x 300h x 17d cm
Array, 2018/ installation detail, ceramics, porcelain, tv screen
150w x 300h x 17d cm,
Array, 2018/ installation
240w x 240d x 47h cm
Array, 2018/ porcelain
48 cm
Array, 2018/ installation, ceramics, mixed media
110w x 130d x 32h cm
Array, 2018/ installation, ceramics, mixed media
250w x 130d x 38h cm

Array, 2018, installation, 1000w x 580d x 320h cm,  mixed media: ceramics, porcelain, wood, metal, video (tv screen), plastic, aluminum, ready-mades, C&H gallery Amsterdam /≈Looiersgracht 60 ( curated by Jens Pfeifer) 

supported by Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst, Mondriaan Fonds/ photo credits: Andy Goulding, C&H gallery, Franz Mueller Schmidt

The installation is scattered across the gallery floor in an ef- fortless manner. Various materials intermingle and find ways to oppose or complete each other. Sculptures in this case are combinations of colored porcelain, ceramic tiles and ambig- uous wooden tools of the last century which have lost their function. Here every object becomes a new material, which the artist embraces and occasionally juxtaposes with new media. Short sequences of movement of the objects are captured in video work. The artist uses moving image to re- search how to activate the static form of sculpture in search for performativity.
How do these various media relate and transforms into one another; this exhibition strives to create a new place for these drifting objects.
Review https://blendle.com/i/het-parool/de-suggestie-van-een-choreografie/bnl-par-20181123-10308418

Pike Straddle Tuck

Pike Straddle Tuck, 2014 / installation
1500d x 650w x 350h cm
Pike Straddle Tuck, 2014 / installation, video projection, mixed media
400d x 320w x 350h cm
Pike Straddle Tuck, 2014 / installation, ceramics, plaster, ready-mades
450d x 600w x 350h cm
Pike Straddle Tuck, 2014 / installation, ceramics, plaster, ready-mades
450d x 600w x 350h cm
Pike Straddle Tuck, 2014 / installation
400d x 320w x 350h cm

Pike Straddle Tuck , 2014, 1500d x 650w x 350h cm, installation, mixed media: ceramics, rubber mats, metal, studio equipment; tripods, video projection, Rijksakademie Open Amsterdam
supported by Mondriaan Fonds, Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Lithuanian Culture State grant/ photo credits: Gert Jan van Rooij

Effort graph

Effort graph, 2015 / installation
200d x 150w x 350h cm
Effort graph, 2015 / installation
200d x 150w x 350h cm
Effort graph, 2015 / installation, ceramics, print
70d x 60w x 5h cm
Effort graph, 2015, installation fragment, mixed media: ceramics, plastic, ready-mades (german wheel acrobatics), video projection, 800d x 250w x 240h cm, gallery Fons Welters,  Amsterdam
supported by Mondriaan Fonds / photo credits: Gert Jan van Rooij

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