Andrius Arutiunian (b.1991) is an Armenian-Lithuanian artist and composer based in the Netherlands. Trained as a composer, Arutiunian studied at the Royal Conservatory The Hague. Arutiunian works with hybrid forms of sound through installations, film, sculpture and performances.
Sonic dissent, alternate modes of political and musical organisation, and playful investigation of esoteric and vernacular histories form Arutiunian’s most recent works. Through aural cosmologies, non-western tunings and musical systems, as well as extensive studies of resonance and speculative instruments, the artist works with sound as a world-ordering method. Using hypnotic and enigmatic forms, Arutiunian’s works often question the notion of musical and political attunement.
In 2022 Andrius Arutiunian represented Armenia at the 59th Venice Art Biennale with a solo show entitled Gharīb. Other recent solo shows include Counterfates (Meduza Vilnius, 2023) Diaphonics (Centrala Birmingham, 2023), and Incantations (CTM and silent green, Berlin, 2021).
Selected group shows and performances include the 14th Shanghai Biennale, Le Fresnoy and Centre Pompidou (Tourcoing), the 14th Kaunas Biennial, M HKA (Antwerp), Stroom (The Hague), Stedelijk (Amsterdam), Survival Kit 13 (Riga), documenta 14 Parliament of Bodies (Kassel), Radicants and Slavs and Tatars’ Pickle Bar (Paris), gb agency (Paris), FACT (Liverpool), Rewire Festival (The Hague), and Contemporary Art Centre (Vilnius).
Andrius Arutiunian is a selected DAAD fellow in Berlin 2023-24. Other residencies include Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (Frankfurt), Amant (Siena), Rupert (Vilnius), Cite Internationale des Arts (Paris), EMARE/EMAP (Liverpool), BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art (Newcastle), and ZKM | Centre for Art and Media (Karlsruhe).
Education
| 2010 – 2016 | Music Composition, BA & MA; The Royal Conservatoire, The Hague |
Solo shows
| 2023 | Medūza, Vilnius, Counterfates |
| PYLON-Lab, Dresden, Silent Talking | |
| Centrala Space, Birmingham, Diaphonics | |
| 2022 | The 59th Venice Biennale, Armenia Pavilion, Gharīb |
| CTM festival and silent green, Berlin, Incantations |
Group exhibitions & performances
| 2023 | The 14th Shanghai Biennial: Cosmos Cinema |
| The 14th Kaunas Biennial, Long-distance Friendships | |
| Le Fresnoy and Centre Pompidou, Tourcoing, Saodat Ismailova. Double Horizon | |
| Slavs and Tatars, Radicants, Paris, Pickle Bar | |
| Stroom, The Hague, Positions: Elsewheres | |
| 2022 | Survival Kit 13, Riga, The Little Bird Must be Caught |
| M HKA, Antwerp, EURASIA − A Landscape of Mutability |
| 2021 | FACT, Liverpool, Unseen Data |
| Rewire festival, The Hague | |
| werkleitz, Halle | |
| BALTIC Contemporary Centre for Art, Newcastle, Opening the Archive | |
2020 | Lucia Festival, Florence |
| Exrotaprint, Berlin (w/ Adapter ensemble) | |
2019 | Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (w/Ensemble Modelo62) |
| Sacrum Profanum Festival | |
| Kablys, Vilnius | |
| MO, Modern Art Museum, Vilnius (w/ Ensemble Synaesthesis) | |
| Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam (w/ Marianna Maruyama) | |
2018 | Centraal Museum, Gaudeamus Muziekweek festival, Utrecht |
| Yaga festival, Lithuania | |
| Korzo, The Hague | |
| Ephémère, Studio Loos, The Hague | |
2017 | documenta 14, Parliament of Bodies (w/ Marianna Maruyama) |
| Contemporary Art Centre (CAC), Vilnius | |
| Melos Ethos festival, Bratislava (w/ Ensemble Synaesthesis) | |
| deSingel, Antwerp (w/ Nadar ensemble) | |
2016 | MAZE festival, Amsterdam |
| Rewire festival, The Hague |
Residencies
| 2023 | DAAD, Berlin |
| Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt | |
| Cité internationale des arts, Paris | |
| 2022 | Rupert, Vilnius |
2021 | FACT, EMARE/EMAP, Liverpool |
| Cité internationale des arts, Paris | |
2020 | Amant, Siena |
2019 | BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead |
| ZKM | Hertz Lab, Karlsruhe | |
2018 | The Deep Splash, Vilnius |
| Quartertone, Yerevan | |
2015 | Conlon Foundation, Utrecht |
2014 | National Cyprus Museum and Slagwerk Den Haag, Nicosia |
Bibliography
Publications
| 2022 | The Book of Gharīb (Pavilion of Armenia and Hallow Ground) |
| 2020 | Four Essays, w/ Raimundas Malašauskas, Marianna Maruyama, Isabelle Sully |
| 2019 | Portraits & Poets, digital release |
Awards & grants
| 2020 | Talent Development Grant, Stimulerings Fonds, the Netherlands |
| Makersregeling Den Haag, the Netherlands | |
| Stroom, Promise Grant, the Netherlands | |
| 2018 | Young Artist of 2017, Lithuanian Composer’s Union |
| 2017 | JCDecaux award (nomination), Lithuania |
Education
Teaching & research
| 2016–ongoing | Sound researcher at the Sedje Hémon Foundation, The Hague |
| 2016–2021 | Guest tutor at the Master Artistic Research department, The Royal Academy of Fine Arts, The Hague |