Things Return Quietly

Vytautas Kumža’s works begin with objects that become strangely charged when removed from their familiar surroundings. A domestic fragment leans towards something that seems to resist it. Familiar things begin to behave strangely. Working across photography and sculpture, in Things Return Quietly Kumža places objects in carefully constructed relationships that appear precise and aestheticized, yet remain psychologically unstable. Objects lean towards one another, hang precariously, interrupt the photographic image or extend beyond its frame. Their relationships suggest intimacy, attraction, refusal or threat, without settling into any single meaning. Vytautas Kumža (b. 1992, Lithuania) lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Kumža’s practice sensitively foregrounds objects, their states and placement, applying a dreamlike, psychoanalytic attentiveness to everyday scenes. Kumža graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in 2017. Since then, his work has been exhibited at institutions including the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Netherlands); Museum of Photography Seoul (MoPS) (South Korea); National Gallery Prague (Czech Republic); and Geste, Paris (France). Kumža’s works are held in the collections including those of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Netherlands); Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Netherlands); MO Museum (Lithuania); Zuzeum (Latvia); and private collections internationally. Kumža received the NN Art Award in 2022 and the Sybren Hellinga Art Prize in 2019. Curators: Iveta Gabaliņa and Jurgita Juospaityte-Bitiniene Exhibition team: Santa Ozoliņa, Elizabete Vuškāne, Aldis Bušs, Aivars Purmals Thanks to Raivis Alksnis The exhibition is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation, Riga City Council, and The Lithuanian Council for Culture, in collaboration with The Rooster Gallery in Vilnius.