Brigita Lastauskaite

Green Totem

106 × 90 cm

Acrylic on canvas

Closing: Thu, 19 Nov, 8 pm AEDT

4d 18h 15m

Starting bid$1,200

Place bid

Next minimum bid: $1,200.

This auction has a buyer's premium.

About the work

This painting continues my exploration of the intangible within contemporary approach to landscape painting, embedding themes of spontaneity, fluidity & renewal. I think of my pieces as imaginative, implosive landscapes, held on a flat surface. I am interested in the texture, rhythm and the feel of experience, not in the content or meaning. I delight in the interpenetrating, ever-shifting patterns of land and water, as Australian landscape has metaphorical and mystical dimensions.I want my paintings to convey the flowing, flooding, churning and undulating energies of nature, as it is in constant motion and renewal. My paintings carry with them evocations of a gentle breeze, restless waves, outrageous storms, spays of light or spring fragrances wafted in on the dripping flow of paint. My work is process-based and I aim to preserve traces of the multiple layers, as nature embeds itself in every pebble, rock, shell or tree trunk. I am interested in the art of immediate impressions and try to transform the meaning into an art of sensation. Each painting conveys a different mood or state of being, as if viewing the landscape through my subjective filter of the moment. I like mixing abstraction with hints of more recognisable nature forms and shapes, but aim to leave enough room for the poetry, mystery and open interpretation, which is what nature is for me. As Phillip Guston says, “Painting is an illusion, a piece of magic, so what you see is not what you see.”

About the artist

Brigita Lastauskaite is a Lithuanian-born Australian artist, based in Melbourne since 1998. She is a finalist at the Mosman, Hutchings, Fisher’s Ghost, Blacktown & Omnia Art Awards and received the Art Residencies in Tasmania, Finland and Lithuania. She completed a Master of Fine Art at the Vilnius Art Academy in Lithuania and was a recipient of a scholarship at the International Summer Academy in Salzburg. Brigita has always been fascinated by the landscape, and organic forms and textures. Her paintings are not intended to replicate a scene, but rather evoke a feeling and a sense of place. Brigita’s paintings are visceral and relate to inward feeling rather than to intellect. Her painting process is spontaneous and raw, and her visual language features abstract textural shapes, rhythmical patterns, calligraphic marks, and unique colour combinations. Brigita’s fascination with the underwater world and snorkelling is evident in her art practice. Her unexpected seascapes appear in ever changing new ways, but organic textural marks that remind of a hand-woven tapestry remain distinct to her artistic style.

You may also like