Curated by Sheida Ghomashchi

Opening: 05.11.2025, 18-21

Exhibition: 06.11.2025 - 10.01.2026

eastcontemporary, via Giuseppe Pecchio 3, 20131 Milan

Andrius Arutiunian’s first solo exhibition in Italy, Poison Paradise, delves into bitumen as both a physical substance and a potent metaphor. This fragment of ancient history holds a planetary rhythm of extraction, transformation, and control.

The exhibition unfolds as a landscape of sculptural and sonic layers. Here, sound emanates directly from the mineral, while rhythm emerges as a form of resistance. This geology is punctuated by an echo of Britney Spears’s 2003 hit, ‘Toxic.’ Released during the US invasion of Iraq, the song collapses pop desire with the long memory of petrochemical conflict.

Crawling through this world are snakes—symbols of the underground, renewal, and endless cycles. Poison Paradise is an invitation to listen to the hidden architectures of power embedded within the very materials shaping our present.

“Poison Paradise” is part of the Cultura Lituana in Italia 2025–2026 program. The Cultura Lituana in Italia 2025–2026 program is implemented by the Lithuanian Culture Institute and the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in the Italian Republic.

BIOGRAPHY:

Andrius Arutiunian is an Armenian-Lithuanian artist and composer. In 2024, Arutiunian was shortlisted for the Future Generation Art Prize. His work was included in the 15th Gwangju Biennale, the 17th Lyon Biennale, 15th Baltic Triennial, 14th Shanghai Biennale and the 9th Asian Art Biennale in Taiwan. In 2022, Andrius Arutiunian represented Armenia at the 59th Venice Art Biennale with a solo show Gharib. Other selected shows include Centre Pompidou (Paris), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), M HKA (Antwerp), Sapieha Palace (Vilnius), Stroom (The Hague), Survival Kit 13 (Riga), FACT (Liverpool), Rewire (The Hague), CTM festival (Berlin), Meduza (Vilnius), and Contemporary Art Centre (Vilnius).

For more information, please write to info@east-contemporary.org or contact +39 344 060 6032.