TWO / SAULIUS SIUKSTA + HIROSHI SHUTO

OCTOBER 4 - OCTOBER 27, 2018
OPENING RECEPTION: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 6-9 PM

GALLERY HOURS: THURSDAY - SATURDAY, 12-6 PM
CLOSED: OCTOBER 1

Sla307 Art Space is pleased to present two outsider artists Saulius Siuksta and Hiroshi Shuto in a duo exhibition entitled two. The show will be open for viewing from October 4 - October 27, 2018. The opening reception will take place on Thursday, October 4, 6-9 pm.

In this particular case we are using the "outsider" definition differently then it is commonly used. Most often it refers to a creative person without a formal art education, who's work is sometimes visionary, strange, obsessive, or asocial, or all that combined. Hiroshi and Saulius are very well trained sculptors, both 20 year New York natives, they are well acquainted with contemporary art as they've worked in the art related fields their whole lives. They consider themselves to be more like New York "outsider" artists.

The correlation between Japanese and Lithuanian cultural backgrounds of these two artists is complicated, and probably isn't so crucial, or obvious for neither Hiroshi or Saulius openly exploit their cultural origins. However, it seems that a focus on formal understatement, love for details, materials, repetition and symbolic content are very much appreciated and are featured in both artist's work. Each artist is walking a very personal path, but also through that, they are trying to create something universal.

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SAULIUS SIUKSTA is exhibiting his series of drawings entitled Reflections. The drawings are displayed without frames directly on the gallery wall in one long line. It purposefully creates a panoramic landscape filled with sculptures and human figures that spread evenly across the central space throughout the drawings. In these graphite compositions figures seem to be engaged in strange and mysterious rituals. The artist tries to recreate his dreams, or what he remembers from them in his work. He spent several years to create this series of drawings and it is the first time that they are being shown in a gallery in New York City.

Saulius Siuksta is a Lithuanian born artist who lives and works in New York City. The artist received his MFA in Sculpture at The Vilnius Academy of Arts in Vilnius, Lithuania. He works in sculpture, painting, drawing, photo, and video. He has been a member of The Lithuanian Artist Union since 1990. His artworks are held in the collections of the Lithuanian Art Museums and private collectors in Europe and USA.

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HIROSHI SHUTO
Imagine the shape of sound, or the velocity of distance between one person to another. You may discover this imaginable theory in my artistic creation. You will experience a dimension that will explore the "walls" that border between countries and social life. Through cutting the mouth, eyes, legs; you are visualizing a cell merge intricately composed from abstract objects. Walls allude to subdivision, a statement of separation though contrary, that brings them together.

Hiroshi Shuto is a Japanese born artist based in New York City. It was in 1993 when he earned his degree from the Tokyo Designer Institute, Japan. He studied sculpture and painting at the School of Visual Arts (SVA), NY. Hiroshi uses different materials: plaster, Styrofoam, aqua resin, wooden sticks, wax, bronze and epoxy, aiming for an unusual tactile quality: the subject matter arises out of it. He also collaborated with others on major art projects through studios in New York and was a sculptor for a project at Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco, CA.; at The Puerto Rico Museum of Sports, Guaynabo, P.R.; and at Lincoln Center, New York.