When you call Painting

Larysa Bauge is a multidisciplinary artist raised in Belarus and currently based in Amsterdam (NL). She was trained as a visual artist as well as classical musician since early age. During her versatile career she painted murals, did performance art, conducted orchestra, composed scores for films. At the age of 19 she runs off to Spain with 1 suitcase. There she lives a life of an illegal immigrant while studying conducting of an orchestra and composition at CSMM in Malaga. At the age of 27 being disappointed by the classical music world and particularly misogynistic character of conducting of the orchestra faculty, she turns to visual art and obtains her master degree at TIME (image and sound) at the Royal Academy of the Arts in the Hague. Bauge’s work is shown internationally in museums, art spaces and festivals including: Venice International Art Week, BLAFER Art Museum, Houston; Stedelijk museum Amsterdam, Riga Biennale, Oslo Performance Art Festival, New Delhi Contemporary, Istanbul Performance Art among others. ​​Artist statement: Ultimately my work challenges the nature of the concept of belonging, roots, the necessity of being part of something bigger, a family, a tribe, a community. Every painting is an emergency, a need of establishing a true emotional connection. Strongly influenced by american abstract expressionism as well as socially engaged and feminist art, I work directly with the context. Much like an anthropologist I gather field data. The material comes from interviews, music making, embodied practices, games. Instead of separating the disciplines I rather merge them in my paintings. On canvas I translate music (rhythm and patterns), poetry (text elements), movement and gesture (expressive brush strokes). An art critic once used a term "playful existentialism" while describing my work and I think it is pretty accurate. I look for answers about our place in this world with childlike curiosity and colorful joie de vivre.