Virginija Kalinauskaite

After graduating from the then State Art Institute in 1983, Virginija Kalinauskaite began her artistic activity. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the artist has been creating small and sheet graphics, book illustrations, ex-libris, and participating in local and international exhibitions in the above-mentioned graphics fields. The artist has been involved in creating etching, and eventually aquatint since 1986. From the very beginning, the artist’s prints were dominated by characteristic, somewhat grotesque and cartoonish characters, creating an expressive diary of Vilnius Old Town. Kvass vendors, waiters, sweepers and gypsies are depicted in the brownish-gray color of the city, which is typical of all artist’s creations. Disproportionate, often plump figures in Kalinauskaitė’s prints do not lack innate charm, they make one enjoy the masterfully conveyed mood rather than repel it. In the images of the courtyards and streets, the artist uniquely uses repetition of motifs, depicting one character from different angles in the same work or demonstrating a multitude of different types. Often in one sheet a real tangle of them is created, reminiscent of a decorative mosaic externally, diversified by church towers or plant motifs. This principle of the columnet conveys the playful, musical and lively pulsation of the city, colored by light humour and transparent mood. (Jurga Mincinauskiene)