Artwork in the room
Gabrielė Šermukšnytė is a figurative painter of the younger generation, recognized for her distinctive artistic approach. She explores the darker elements of pop culture, utilizing irony to critique the decadence of modern society and providing an unvarnished reflection of its flaws. Her art is characterized by a unique viewpoint that lays bare the ruthless facets of contemporary life.
Šermukšnytė’s paintings frequently display society’s wounds with a certain gentleness, reminiscent of velvet, confronting harsh truths with a nuanced, “sweet” rhetoric. Her creative method employs a palette dominated by reddish and brownish tones, accompanied by softly fading or emerging brushstrokes and careful attention to detail. Together, these elements imbue her works with a captivating mood and a profound sense of depth.
The motif of the mirror recurs throughout Gabrielė’s art, serving as a means to examine and reveal the hidden or “incorrect” sides of society. The mirror becomes an instrument that challenges both viewer and artist, suspended between illusion and reality. This concept has played a key role in several of her solo exhibitions, including The Bird Will Fly Out Soon (2015), Reflection (2014), and Two Sides of the Mirror (2014). In her paintings, the mirror stands as a metaphor for social frames, vanity, subconsciousness, and the reflective quality of the audiovisual age.
Her works often depict characters who seem caught between fantasy and reality—fairytale figures, plastic mannequins, and forms that merge the human with the inanimate. These figures are set within surreal, opulent stillness, forever on the verge of movement. With such imagery, Gabrielė Šermukšnytė invites viewers to step into enigmatic stories that draw from familiar pop culture symbols, all the while using irony to challenge notions of beauty. She invites her audience to engage, deciphering the concealed puzzles woven throughout her richly symbolic universes. Born in 1990, Šermukšnytė earned both her BA and MA in Painting from the Vilnius Academy of Arts and, since joining the Lithuanian Artists’ Association in 2016, has exhibited widely in Lithuania and abroad.
About this artwork+
The painting features an old-fashioned, three-seater sofa set against a vivid, almost incandescent, magenta background. The sofa, painted in shades of green and yellow, conveys a sense of wear through its dulled and muted tones, suggestive of frequent use and age. Its classic design, highlighted by rounded arms and tufted back cushions, adds a touch of elegance and nostalgia. The painting captures the sofa in thick, expressive brush strokes that enhance its form and texture, giving it a tangible, almost tactile presence. The sofa rests on a flooring that is rendered in darker, warm tones, contrasting sharply with the bright red backdrop, making the sofa the undeniable focal point of the composition. The overall effect is one of comfort tinged with the melancholy of past times, as if the sofa, stoic and enduring, has witnessed many seasons of life.
