The Averard Hotel features works by Lithuanian artist Eglė Jauncėms
The Averard Hotel, a newly-opened exhibition by Slate Projects, features work from thirteen artists in different mediums, amongst them – Lithuanian artist Eglė Jauncėms. The exhibition runs until 31 January, 2016, and is available to visit Thursday – Sunday, 12-6 p.m. The Averard Hotel is a project space in a previously abandoned hotel in central London, Lancaster Gate, W2 3LH.
Eglė Jauncėms (b. 1984) currently lives in London and is studying an MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art. Previously, Jauncems studied Sinology at Vilnius university, spent a year at National Taiwan University, proceeding to gain a BA in Textile Design at Chelsea College of Art and Design. In 2015, she was awarded the first Hockney Arts Foundation Grant. In her ouevre, Jauncėms utilises various techniques – weaving, painting, collage, to achieve a contrast between fragile, hand-woven silk and rough canvas.
Jauncėms‘s new body of work, featured in this exhibition, has been inspired by Thomas Mann‘s novella Death in Venice. The artist visited the famous and now derelict Grand Hotel des Bains in Venice: an extraordinary building waiting to be renovated into luxury apartments. One can sense a sense of temporarity and abandonment in Jauncėms‘s installation, subtly conveying the dark desirous undertones of the tragic romantic story in Death in Venice.
The exhibition also showcases works by Jolanta Rejs, Shubha Taparia, Pablo Smidt, Nicholas Johnson, Shiraz Bayjoo, Joel Wyllie, Ishai Rimmer and Rory Menage. The ballroom of the hotel hosts Cybernetic Meadow, an installation inspired by a poem by Richard Brautigan and consisting of the works of Gordon Cheung, Lee Marshall and Sean Steadman.
A crucial aspect of this exhibition is its extraordinary space. The hotel’s crumbling wallpaper, mouldy floorboards and fragile glasswork dating to the beginning of the 20th century provides an exceptional framework for the art, challenging the traditional gallery experience.
For more information about the exhibition, go to http://slateprojects.com/exhibitions
For more information about Egle Jauncems, go to http://slateprojects.com/artists/egle-jauncems
Photo: Paulina Drėgvaitė
