This series of paintings grew out of exploring the nature close to me, in everyday life, and looking for connections between plants flowering now and ornaments created and used over centuries.

Most of the paintings began on walks. I first look for combinations of colour—the foundation of my painting—in the changing roadside or in patches of colour appearing in the distance. Form comes next. A recurring motif in this exhibition is a plant, a meadow grass: seemingly unremarkable, temporary, annual. Yet its transience is ironic, because the plant motif takes root and endures in traditions, folklore, songs, textiles, shutters and chests. Exploring the tangle of meadow grasses, I feel I am continuing the searches and experiments of my earlier series “Baltic Signs”, “Into the Density” and “A+Rhythmetic”: trying to understand and sense how the signs of Baltic and other cultures came into being.

The year 2021 was dedicated to the memory of the archaeologist Marija Gimbutienė and her work. What a remarkable discovery: the many signs suggesting that, for a long period, communities in Europe were founded on peaceful coexistence. Women sustained spiritual vitality and continuity, but the social order was matristic—neither sex sought to overshadow the other, as Dr Inga Merkytė observes. These communities sought abundance and beauty, leaving a wealth of ornaments that are, in essence, good wishes for whoever encounters them.

The year 2022 began with war. I felt more strongly than ever how painting helps and sustains me: while I work intensely, oppressive thoughts retreat for a time.

In this exhibition, you will find paintings with clear traces of ornament, as well as more “vegetal” works in which I could not quite grasp the ornament, but enjoyed trying.

Ugnius Motiejūnas