Photo by: Chris Orwig
Inga Guzyte’s Statement:
The stories that inspire my work are the stories of fierce women. I see my work as an extension of the voices that fight hard to be heard and I also give their voices a face to underline the social justice issues we urgently need to address.
Born in Lithuania, I was mostly raised in west Germany, and migrated alone to the USA. I am coming from a place where I was rejected by my father because I was born a girl. That just filled me with determination to prove myself. Ironically, every world I chose was male-dominated - from skateboarding to woodworking and sculpture. My experience gave me the motivation to fight for what I want and to take on any challenges coming my way.
The techniques I am using today to construct my sculptural-portraiture pieces are self-taught. The choice of material to express my intentions is rooted in my early teenage years growing up in Germany, where an unbreakable bond with the street culture of skateboarding was created. Having skateboarding in my life gave me a direction and a new family of friends when I needed them the most. Over the years, I learned to see the potential in old skateboards: old graphics, scrapes, scratches, letters, words, and marks that streets could only give you and stories that streets could only tell you.
My production process is straightforward. At first, I deconstruct the material with a scroll saw into the shapes and colors I need, and then I proceed to inlay every color piece into each other to create a dimensional quality to my work. All colors, scratches and marks are part of the original piece of material and all that is carefully and intentionally selected to be part of every subject I chose to create. Like other artists, I deal with different things in my life, so my personal experiences help me choose the stories I want to tell. My goal is to meld opposite worlds together to create work that makes you stop and think. At the same time, I want to empower women to think for themselves and to strive not for equality but for even better things!
CV
INGA GUZYTE
Born: Lithuania, 1984
Currently living: Santa Barbara, California
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 INGA GUZYTE: The Decks Were Stacked, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2021 INGA GUZYTE: Young Sparrows, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2020 The New Vanguard III, Kindred Spirits, Museum of Art and History (MOAH), Lancaster, CA, USA
2020 INGA GUZYTE, CabadaGray Gallery, Ventura, CA, USA
2019 INGA GUZYTE: Rebel Women, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2012 The Do Nots, Adhoc Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2012 Reanimation of Wood, Suede Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2011 Urban Life, COA Gallery, New York, NY, USA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selected list)
2024 The Outwin Boochever 2022: American Portraiture Today, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI, USA
2024 The Outwin Boochever 2022: American Portraiture Today, Michele and Donlad D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
2024 The Outwin Boochever 2022: American Portraiture Today, Ackland Art Museum, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
2023 The Outwin Boochever 2022: American Portraiture Today, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, FL, USA
2023 100 Grand Show, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2022 100 Grand Show, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2022 Uncanny, Westmont Ridley - Tree Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Juried show by Robin Eley. 1st Honorable Mention Award
2022 The Outwin Boochever 2022: American Portraiture Today, Smithsonian / National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C., USA
2022 Ohana, SIP Gallery, San Marcos, CA, USA
2022 Figuratively, Launch LA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2021 100 Grand Show, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2021 The Big Show, My Pet Ram Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2021 Women Who Dared, Barney’s, New York, NY, USA
2021 Court Vision, My Pet Ram Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2021 Made in California, City of Brea Art Gallery (Brea Gallery), Los Angeles, CA, USA
Mayor’s Choice Award
2021 At the Edge, Westmont Ridley - Tree Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Juried show by Marcos Ramirez ERRE. 1st Place Award
2021 Sanctuary, Gray Space Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2020 Floating Worlds, 825 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2020 TARFEST 2020: Transition, Launch LA, Los angeles, CA, USA
2019 100 Grand Show, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2019 The Long Game, Arts Fund Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2018 100 Grand Show, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2018 The Red-Headed Stepchild: The History of Collage & Assemblage in Santa Barbara 1955-2018,
Sullivan Goss Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2018 Barry McGee: SB Mid Summer Intensive, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara,
Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2018 Spring Break, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2018 sg:Xc: Sullivan Goss Extra Curricular, The Guilded Table, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2017 100 Grand Show, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2015 No Man’s Land, Gone Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2015 Love and Guts, Betteravia Galleries North & South, Santa Maria, CA, USA
2014 If She Can Do It, So Can I!, Der Schaukasten, Vienna, Austria
2013 On Deck, Brink Gallery, Missoula, MT, USA
2013 Sidewalk Surfing, Everhart Museum of Natural History, Science & Art, Scranton, PA, USA
2013 10 under 30, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA, US
2012 In Between, 16a Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
2011 Group Show, 3rd Ward Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA
2011 Craftwork, F4C Gallery, Oakland, CA, USA
AWARDS / GRANTS
2022 Westmont Ridley - Tree Museum of Art, 1st Honorable Mention Award
2022 Finalist, Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C.
2021 Women Who Dared Art Collection
2021 City of Brea Art Gallery, Mayor’s Choice Award
2021 Westmont Ridley - Tree Museum of Art, 1st Place Award
2011 Santa Barbara City College, Sculpture Excellence Scholarship
2010 Santa Barbara Art Association, Ludington - Parshall Scholarship
2009 Santa Barbara City College, Studio Art Excellence Scholarship
2009 Atkinson Gallery, Student Exhibition, 1st Place
2008 Atkinson Gallery, Student Exhibition, Merit Award
EDUCATION
2010 Associates Degree in Arts, Emphasis on Arts Studio, Santa Barbara City College
Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2005 Certificate in Art and Composition, University of Art and Composition, Zurich, Switzerland
PRESS / PUBLICATIONS / VIDEOS
2022 “Chairwoman & Chairman of the Boards”, by Zachary Rosen, The RIV., Spring 2022, pp. 252-256.
2021 “Inga Guzyte: Young Sparrows”, by Marilyn McMahon, Santa Barbara News-Press, December 12, 2021, pp. Life B1, B4,
https://newspress.com/young-sparrows/
2021 “Inga Guzyte: Young Sparrows”, by Kerry Methner, Voice Magazine, October 29, 2021,
pp. Cover-2, https://issuu.com/casamagazine/docs/10.29.21_voice_magazine_28
2019 “#REBELWOMEN: Inga Guzyte Celebrates the World's Strongest Women”, Juxtapoz Art & Culture,
May 13, 2019, https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/sculpture/rebelwomen-inga-guzyte-celebrates-the-world-s-bravest-women/
2019 “Knowns, Unknowns, and Simply Hangable” by Ted Mills, Santa Barbara Sentinel,
June 15 - July 26, 2019, p. 12, https://issuu.com/santabarbarasentinel/docs/sntnl5_8_full/12
2019 “Art on Deck” by Leslie Dinaberg, 805 Living Magazine, June, p. 30, https://bit.ly/2ZvG6Wv
2019 “INGA GUZYTE: #RebelWomen”, Juice Magazine, https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx7rPZ2F2uX/
2019 “A Rebel Will Rise” by Ted Mills, Montecito Journal, May 30 - June 6, 2019, Vol. 25, Iss. 21,
pp. Cover, 13, 20, https://issuu.com/santabarbarasentinel/docs/mj_21_25_full
2019 “Brave Women are the Creative Nexus for Inga Guzyte”, by Kerry Methner, VOICE, May 10,
pp. Cover-2, https://issuu.com/casamagazine/docs/5.10.19.voice_24_pg?e=6215299/69738648
2019 “INGA GUZYTE: #RebelWomen”, 4:07, https://youtu.be/2zIYdIYCRyI
2019 “Girl Power”, by Ninette Paloma, Santa Barbara Magazine, May, p. 42
2013 “Recycled Skateboard Art | Inga Guzyte | Atelier | CHTV”, 20:33, https://youtu.be/7g1Tdd3QEVM
2013 “INGA GUZYTE”, Amateur Magazine, April-October, Vol. 12, pp. 36-41, https://issuu.com/amateur/docs/amateur_012/36
2012 “The Art of Being Green: A Glimpse into the Home of Low Country Jonathan Green”,
by Christie Conway, Charleston Home + Design Magazine, Spring, p. 25, https://issuu.com/chdmagazine/docs/spr12_issuu/120
