Artwork in the room
Verdenė Monika Valkiūnaitė is a Lithuanian artist whose practice encompasses scenography, drawing, and painting. She received her bachelor’s degree in scenography from the Vilnius Academy of Arts in 2018, later earning her master’s from the same institution in 2021. Since completing her studies, she has continually produced new works and participated in exhibitions, both at home in Lithuania and abroad.
When painting, Valkiūnaitė aims to cultivate a distinctive style and expressive approach, often drawing inspiration from her early life. Her method includes assembling scenographic components on flat surfaces and reinterpreting the responsibilities of the scenographer by placing emphasis on crafting a sensual atmosphere throughout the canvas. She adopts a spontaneous and intuitive process, frequently forgoing preliminary sketches in favor of allowing her compositions to emerge organically.
A prominent feature of her art is the use of multiple layers, which give her canvases both depth and spatial complexity. She favors vivid, luminous colors, engaging with their contrasts and relationships to infuse her paintings with energy and playfulness. In organizing her exhibitions, Valkiūnaitė invites viewers to navigate the space, encounter unexpected barriers, and immerse themselves in environments that are simultaneously novel and intimate, often populated by captivating characters.
For Valkiūnaitė, perseverance and continuous exploration are more valuable than brief moments of inspiration. Her creative process involves gathering her experiences, reevaluating them, and subsequently interpreting them through her artwork. Among her significant solo exhibitions are “Savannid” at Jakobi galerii in Tartu, Estonia (2023), “Savanna and Other Spells” at Baltasis koridorius in Vilnius, Lithuania (2023), and “Planes (after the exit of the gorillas)” exhibited at both the VAA Library and gallery AKADEMIJA in Vilnius, Lithuania (2020).
About this artwork+
The painting presents an ethereal and dreamlike cityscape brimming with delicate, whimsical elements. At the forefront, soft, rosy floral shapes layered atop each other create a gentle curtain of blooms, perhaps resembling hollyhocks or fantasy-derived flora. Dots and dashes of white and various grays seem to represent either rain droplets or falling petals, enhancing the scene's misty, serene atmosphere. Behind this floral veil, the color palette shifts to a pastel-dominated view featuring yellows, blues, and mauves that fashion out a city or an elaborately adorned architectural setting. Various building-like structures rise, slender and elongated, with suggestions of spires and towers, possibly suggesting a cathedral or fairy-tale palaces. Some buildings feature soft, rounded outlines, contributing to the painting's overall softness and lack of harsh edges. There's a sweeping sense of both verticality and depth, achieved by layering the floral foreground over the urban background. A feeling of movement, almost like waves or a gentle breeze, permeates the composition, lending a transient, almost fragile quality to the painted city—a place that perhaps exists in a moment of quiet right before sleep, as the title suggests. The scene vibrates with dreamscape qualities, meshing reality with imagination in a dance of color, form, and texture.
