XI YPP Book

The Young
It is the eleventh time when the annual Young Painter Prize project, an art chronicler of the young
generation of painters, become a platform for the up-and-coming artists from Lithuania, Latvia
and Estonia. The opening of the exhibition showcasing the works of the finalists of the XI YPP
competition was held in Vilnius on 8 November. The event was also feature the announcement of
this year’s YPP winner.
Painter Prize
Competition
Brings Painters
from Across
This year the artists competed for the award, worth 5,000 EUR, which includes a two month
residency in SomoS Art House, Berlin, a cash prize, and an opportunity to hold a solo show in
“Pamėnkalnio” Gallery, Vilnius. One of the highlights of the YPP award is that the winner’s work
was included into the art collections of the Lithuanian Art Museum and National Art Gallery which
are the possessors of the artworks of the previous ten YPP winners.
As a continuation of the last year’s initiative, friends of YPP—the creative communications agency
“Autoriai” and the contemporary art gallery “The Rooster”—introduced their own additional
prizes. The “Autoriai” agency—a close collaborator with the artists of the Baltic region—offered a
“Special mention” cash prize. The winner of the prize was selected by the dedicated interdisciplinary
jury. One of the finalists also received “The Rooster Open”, an encouragement award from
the “Rooster” gallery which works exclusively with the up-and-coming young artists.
The key objectives of YPP are to introduce the work of the young artists to a wider audience, and
help specialist audiences in Lithuania and abroad, which include art collectors, art managers and
curators, discover new talents of the Baltic region. To ensure the successful realisation of these
goals each year, the YPP organisers host an international jury comprised of a diverse range of art
professionals: gallerists, collectors, art theorists, artists, and curators.
the Baltic
States
When asked how it feels to be organising the YPP competition for the eleventh time already, the
art historian Julija Dailidėnaitė could not contain her joy: “Actually, this annual project marks the
beginning of my ‘calendar year’. It is shocking to realise that we started a decade ago. Sometimes
it seems like we are looped in a single moment, but it is very reassuring to look back and summarise
all the discoveries, achievements and events that accumulated over the years. I still see
the potential in developing and expanding our project further.”
The project initiator, painter Vilmantas Marcinkevičius added: “What I find especially rewarding is
the realisation that creativity is more real than the idea of a perpetual motion engine. Creativity
is limitless. This is clearly evident in the work of the young generation. The young artists of the
Baltic states use the means of painting to navigate a whole variety of paths, and yet we see a tendency
to return to the figurative painting that reflects on the existential states and experiences,
living environments and situations, the influence of animation and computer games, as well as
the art history itself. These are all very positive signs of the future of painting.”