Dovilė Bilkštienė. Dviratininkai, 2021, 50x70cm. Photos – Dovilė Bilkštienė’s archive ©
Vilnius gallery Meno Niša starts the new year with Dovilė Bilkštienė’s painting exhibition Everyday Life, Simply. The theme of the exhibition, which opens on Tuesday, January 11, at 6 pm, is inspired by nothing else than everyday life, which is dominated by ordinarity, routine, and cultural stamps that we know only too well.
Everyday Life, Simply. is the second personal exhibition of D. Bilkštienė taking place after a break of 6 years, in the gallery Meno Niša. The artist graduated in painting from the Vilnius Academy of Arts, participated in the Lithuanian Quadrennial of Contemporary Art in 2015, the Young Painter’s Prize competition, and other group exhibitions, in ArtVilnius’17 art fair.
Bilkštienė’s distinctive style formed during her studies at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. The artist’s paintings display unexpected, mysterious, surreal scenes full of gentle humour. The painting style is reminiscent of photorealistic or poster pop art painting.
Dovilė Bilkštienė
“I have been very focused on creativity for the last few years, so I am very happy to finally be able to present the results to the general public after a long break,” said D. Bilkštienė, adding that almost all the works in the exhibition Everyday Life, Simply. have not been shown live yet.
According to art critic dr. Vidas Poškus, the situations in Dovilė’s paintings are extraordinary. The reality that we perceive does not exist in D. Bilkštienė’s works. Everything is regulated by carnival logic. What seems real turns out to be fictitious. Absolutely impossible things become real. The characters here are “normal” flamingos, ducks (mallards), puppies, tigers, bears, and people engaged in all kinds of activities. From parachutists or marathon runners to just passersby. It is unclear which of them look “more normal”, or rather more bizarre. Animals lost in the city streets (but feeling comfortable enough) or people wandering around and seemingly looking for something. There is sometimes more anxiety and surprise in their faces and gestures…
Dovilė Bilkštienė. Karantinas, 2021, 60x70cm.
According to the art critic, D. Bilkštienė is a painter directly inspired by images. Dovilė’s eyes, brain, and hand capture almost everything that surrounds her. It can be a look from the balcony of your own home, a fragment of a bathroom, a street view, a glimpse through an airplane’s window. The artist absorbs the visible things.
Dovilė Bilkštienė. Čiurlionis, 2017, 90x70cm.
“Dovilė Bilkštienė, as the title of this exhibition formulated by herself points out, is inspired by nothing but everyday life. However, according to V. Mykolaitis-Putinas, it can be noted that “under the ashes of everyday life, hot ember smolders… In the case of Dovilė’s painting, those embers could be said to be unexpected motives and situations, as if dreamed up or constructed by means of surreal automation. The author then only has to frame them purposefully, paint them correctly, and sighing: “Everyday life, simply…” show them to the public,” – said art critic dr. V. Poškus.
Dovilė Bilkštienė’s exhibition Everyday Life, Simply. will run from January 11 to 28 at the gallery Meno Niša. The sponsor of the gallery is Vilnius City Municipality.
