Paulina Domašauskaitė. Before I sink into the big sleep I want to hear The scream of the butterfly. Oil on canvas. 160x180cm. 2024. Photos – courtesy of Gallery Meno Niša ©
Mark your calendars: on January 17 at 6 PM, Vilnius City Gallery Meno Niša will host the opening of Liquid Swords, a solo exhibition by rising artist Paulina Domašauskaitė. Inspired by the Japanese concept of kire-tsuzuki—the aesthetic of fragmented continuity—Domašauskaitė seamlessly blends traditional Japanese motifs with her own bold, contemporary approach to painting.
Born in 2000, Domašauskaitė is part of the new wave of Lithuanian artists reshaping the art scene. She’s currently pursuing her Master’s degree in painting at Vilnius Academy of Arts, following her 2023 Bachelor’s graduation. Despite her young age, she has already made a name for herself in group exhibitions and now proudly presents her second solo show, curated by Linas Bliškevičius.
Photo – courtesy of Paulina Domašauskaitė ©
At the heart of Liquid Swords lies the intersection of heritage and innovation. Domašauskaitė draws deeply from Japanese cultural traditions, transforming them into vibrant, contemporary visual narratives. Her works are a balancing act: they juxtapose clean, precise forms with chaotic, expressive brushstrokes, exploring themes of separation, unity, and the dynamics of painting itself.
Beyond traditional painting, the artist ventures into interdisciplinary creations, adding depth and texture to her explorations. Each piece plays with layers, scratches, and colours, inviting viewers to witness the raw, unfiltered energy of the creative process. The result is an emotional and intellectual dialogue between strict structure and unbridled expression.
Paulina Domašauskaitė. Krintančiam sniege. Oil on canvas. 160x180cm. 2024
Curator of the exhibition Linas Bliškevičius:
“The title of the exhibition Liquid Swords (Lithuanian translation Takieji kardai) refers to Paulina’s creative method, which consists of two oxymoronic elements. It reveals the artist’s creative method based on fluidity or free movement in local and global contexts. By combining and stylizing historical Japanese contexts, the artist creates connections with the early abstract expressionist artistic tradition, with its sharp and rigorous forms, its plots, and their negation.
The motifs that appear in the works in the exhibition are cut out of their temporal or local contexts, but the artist does not rely on decontextualization but rather on the Japanese aesthetic tradition’s concept of kire-tsuzuki (cut-continuity). Kire-tsuzuki can be defined as an act of interruption, severance, or cutting off, whereby a transformation of the original form is created. By pulling historical and cultural forms out of their natural environment, the artist creates new ways of interpreting them through contemporary eyes, not trying to overcome them as references or cultural artefacts but to recompose them into new wholes with new qualities.
By interrupting previous connotations and interpretations, Paulina Domašauskaitė performs a symbolic act of their destruction, which at the same time ensures new forms of their being. The juxtaposition of various sources, modes of expression, colours, textures, and contents reflects the changing cultural boundaries in contemporary art and highlights the inseparable interactions of separation and integration. This allows reflection on the multi-layered sources of knowledge that shape today’s culture”
Paulina Domašauskaitė. BLOOM. Oil on canvas. 160x140cm. 2024
Liquid Swords will run at Meno Niša until February 8 as part of the gallery’s Art Space for Young Artists initiative, supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture. Paulina extends her heartfelt thanks to Rokas, Kristijonas, Liucija, Monika, Kęstas, and Vita for their support. The gallery also acknowledges the sponsorship of Vilnius City Municipality.
Don’t miss the chance to experience the artistry of Paulina Domašauskaitė, where tradition meets innovation and painting becomes a dynamic, living process.
