On July 12th at 18.00 we are opening a new exhibition at Rõdugalerii titled “Notes 2023-2025”. It is an exhibition by Anna Chostegian, giving an overview of the everyday workday of a gallery assistant, and of the things that stay hidden for the average visitor.
“I am a gallery assistant – a more official way of describing the work of an exhibition babysitter. After the vernissages, all the joy and congratulations, bouquets of flowers left by the artists and curators settle, I am the one left to take care of the artworks. While the artists observe the work’s creation, I am the one who spends the most time with its finished form. Dusting, adjusting, fighting off the misbehaving electronics, often times duct-taping the fallen off pieces. The narrations and melodic twists of the soundtracks get stuck in my mind – to a point where for the weeks after the exhibitions, I can still recite them quite clearly.
(…)
A print in a way is almost holy – put on a wall, often framed, traditionally treated with utmost precision in the process of its making. But similarly, as the press releases that leave the gallery folded into fours and tucked into pockets, my dear notes have seen life – chucked with my laptop, in the back of my notebooks, crumpled and stained and everything else. Turning them into silkscreen prints in a way reinstates their preciousness, that the effort was not lost after all, but letting people touch them in a way defies this notion, turns them back to their original purpose. And yet, it feels that the experiencing the hidden effort needs to combine the touch and the ephemeral moment of catching just the right angle of light.“
Anna Chostegian is an artist and art worker living and working in Vilnius. Since 2023, they can be found behind the desk of Editorial Project Space or in various galleries, documenting exhibitions. Originally trained in printmaking, their work is not limited to a single medium, exploring a variety of materials and techniques, often engaging in slow and repetitive processes. Through their work, the artist looks into themes of memory, time passage, ephemerality, and identity.
Rõdugalerii is open from Wed-Sun, from 12.00-18.00. It is located at Aparaaditehas courtyard through door nr 7 on the second floor. The exhibition will stay open until the 2nd of August 2026.