14 November 2019

22 November – 19 January: an exhibition of paintings by Mykolė “Five Regions”

Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania invites you to attend a solo exhibition of paintings by Mykolė titled “Five Regions” dedicated to Lithuanian landscapes featuring artworks that convey the subtleties of different landscape settings and the change of seasons. The series of artworks that depict the country’s different regions will be exhibited at the same time thus Lithuania will be represented as a unified whole encompassing differences, unique features and natural beauty in general through the lens of contrasts, otherness and diversity.

Mykolė Ganusauskaitė’s paintings mostly depict landscapes, a genre rarely cultivated by the young-generation of artists. While she uses plein air studies as the point of departure for her works, her landscapes move away from direct representation of nature and test the limits between the figurative and the abstract. In the space clearly layered by plans, the stylized, geometric and flat shapes of landscapes look stenographic and resemble the theatrical scenery of the empty stage.

Her personal relationship with the location depicted as seen in her early works increasingly gives way to an analytical perspective which dissects the spatial and colour composition of a landscape setting. Mykolė discovers the poetry of natural sceneries through contrasts: emptiness vs abundance (of colours, lines and shapes); static vs dynamic; strict form vs free form; open spaces vs closed ones. In her canvases, the artist revels in a variety of colours and structures and emphasizes the rhythm of natural elements. The relationship between horizontal and vertical elements becomes a central motif in her paintings. The artist highlights the vertical elements that convey the sense of growth and upward movement and these elements are often extended by vigorous gestures of dripping paint. Water (river, stream, lake, sea or quagmire) is an important element in her works. Water reflections of the fragments of the sky or vegetation echo the rhythm of the lines and become part of the overall decorative scheme of the painting. Mykolė’s works feature resonant and expressive combinations of translucent colours that add an emotional charge to her compositions. The canvas visible through the thin layer of paint provides atmospheric glow to her paintings.

Having started her career with Lithuanian landscapes, over time, the artist expanded her body of works with the nature studies from the countries she personally visited. Her landscape paintings reflect regional differences of landscapes in terms of structure, colours, vegetation and climatic conditions. The dimension of time acquires a particular importance in her works. Different seasons and times of the day depicted in the paintings highlight the rhythm of nature and the cyclical character of its processes. Her landscapes are often imbued with a sense of fleeting time and convey the artist’s reflections on the relationship between the present and the past as the painter projects the feelings of nostalgic longing and yearning onto the past. Her landscapes sometimes acquire ecological, historical or geopolitical dimensions. For the painter herself, however, the most important thing is nature, an intrinsically harmonious creation and a source of meaning. For her, nature provides counterbalance for the urban life, its dynamism and noise, thus each landscape becomes a space for (self)reflection and meditation.

Mykolė Ganusauskaitė (born 1987) studied at Vilnius Academy of Arts and National School of Fine Arts (École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts) in Paris where she acquired her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. From 2015 to 2017 she lived and created in Copenhagen. As of 2017, she is based in Vilnius. She has held solo exhibitions in Lithuania, France and Denmark and participated in group exhibitions in Lithuania, France, Denmark, United States and other countries. Ganusauskaitė was the finalist (2011) and winner (2013) of the “Young Painter Prize” competition.

Brief information about the exhibition

Date	22 November – 19 Jaunuary
Opening of the exhibition	22 November at 5 p.m.
Place	Atrium, 5th floor
Participation	Free entrance
More	See our Facebook page, mykole.com