Works by Monika Žaltauskaitė Grašienė stand out not only because of their unique content, but also because of unexpected combinations between traditional and contemporary techniques. The artist weaves impressive draperies using a complicated computerized jacquard technique, which allows her to create new stories and identities. Since the beginning of her career, M. Žaltauskaitė Grašienė was interested in image transformations in textile surfaces. She has a unique way of seeing everyday objects and aims to convey life processes evident on surfaces. The main motifs in her works are the volumes and forms of human body or clothing folds that are transformed into topographic textile maps. The images in her works are not directly transferred onto a flat surface, but rather go through different materialization forms: (textile), object, photography, computer program and textile. The original form is a real, physical object or body covering, enveloping cloth, the last – a two-dimensional, flat textile that gives a three-dimensional illusion of reality – curator, Neringa Stoškutė
The artist has held a number of solo exhibitions and actively participates in various group exhibitionsin Lithuania and abroad (Sweden, Estonia, Russia, Poland, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, USA, Iran, India). In 2015 M. Žaltauskaitė Grašienė’s works were presented at an international exhibition “Art_Textiles” curated by prof. Jennifer Harris (Manchester, United Kingdom), alongside such artists as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry, Ghada Amer and others. In addition, M. Žaltauskaitė Grašienė has won significant awards, amongst which Individual Artist or Educational Stipends from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Kaunas City Municipality. The artist has completed training at the Cultural Innovation Hub & Artistic Laboratory in United Kingdom and participated in an artist residency in Delhi, India. She has given lectures at various higher education institutions and presented academic papers at international conferences.
M. Žaltauskaitė Grašienė’s works are included in private collections both in Lithuania and abroad. Since 2013 the artist is a member of the organizational committee of “Kaunas Biennial”.
