The Mermaid and the Diver

Martynas Ivinskas, originally from Kaunas, Lithuania, now splits his time between Los Angeles, USA, and Vilnius, Lithuania, where he lives and works. His artistic practice is marked by notable versatility and a refusal to adhere to established artistic limitations, opting to use any available tools or materials to convey his creative vision. This mindset places him as something of a libertarian within the contemporary art scene, favoring innovation and experimentation over convention.

Ivinskas’s oeuvre features works produced on unusual surfaces, including jute coffee sacks and city maps. Among his recurring themes are musicians, musical instruments, and scenes of urban life, which he often depicts with forms that repeat and intertwine—reflecting his own impressions of city existence, balancing chaos with order. Through these works, he invites viewers to wander the city streets he illustrates, encouraging the discovery of both recognizable and abstract shapes that perhaps only he might usually perceive.

His creative practice extends past the limitations of traditional two-dimensional art to encompass objects and assemblages that merge elements of sculpture, collage, painting, and everyday items, thereby dissolving distinctions between these media. This results in exhibitions arranged with intentional disorder, offering audiences a "fragmented reality"—a carefully structured chaos that has become characteristic of Ivinskas's style, as described by art critic Paulius Garbačiauskas. In employing these methods, he reimagines his surroundings in surprising ways, allowing viewers to interpret his work for themselves.

Ivinskas has held numerous solo exhibitions in both the United States and Lithuania, including "DUO 02/16" at Hangar Gallery (Santa Monica, 2019), "Colorful Society" at Bruce Lurie Gallery (Culver City, 2017), and “…on the maps” at Vilnius’s City Hall (2015). His participation in a range of group shows has brought his art to international audiences, with exhibitions at venues like the Musee du Louvre in Paris and Times Square in New York City, indicating the widespread regard and recognition his distinctive approach has garnered.