Lina Jonikė is one of the best-known contemporary textile artists in Lithuania, whose main form of artistic expression is conceptual embroidery. By using one of the oldest decorative textile techniques the artist presents for our appreciation newly created (embroidered) stories, interpretations and identities of time-frozen images (photographs). From the beginning of her artistic career one of Lina Jonikė’s main aims is the search for identity. Key image in the artist’s work is human body, which is compared to an empty canvas on the surface of which its destiny is “painted” by thread stitches. Although combining stitching and photography link all of the artist’s works, some of them, as usual, are embroidered directly onto the canvas, but others create an illusion of a traditional embroidered surface. Here the artist uses translucent sheets of plastic, detached from the photographic image, onto which she embroiders a piece of clothing (cloak, towel, nappy or drapery) covering the naked body – art historian and critic, dr. Virginija Vitkienė
The artist has participated in numerous exhibitions in Lithuania and abroad (Latvia, Germany, Belgium, Ukraine, Slovakia, Portugal, USA) and has held a number of solo shows (Lithuania, Spain, Japan), the latest being in December 2016 at VAA “Titanikas” gallery. L. Jonikė has received many awards. In 2014 in “Best 2013 Art Work” exhibition held at M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art she received an award for Sensitive Memories of a Painful Past (artwork “Old Man I-II”). It is also worth mentioning, that in 1997 at an International Kyoto Exhibition-Competition L. Jonikė received an “ExellenceAward” for her artwork “Arnotas”. The artist is a member of the Lithuanian Artists’ Association. She also actively participates in various national and international projects, gives papers and lectures in Lithuania and abroad.
Date of birth
1969 02 24
Education
1989-1995 in Textiles, Kaunas Faculty, Vilnius Academy of Arts
Professional qualification, academic degree
2010-till now Associate professor, Textile Department, Kaunas Faculty, Vilnius Academy of Arts
Employer and position
2010-till now Associate Professor and Lecturer, Textile Department, Kaunas Faculty, Vilnius Academy of Arts
2000-2010 Lecturer, Textile Department, Kaunas Faculty, Vilnius Academy of Arts
Solo Exhibitions:
2016 “Secrets”, VAA exhibition hall “Titanikas”, Vilnius, Lithuania
2013 “Reverse Trajectories” at “Kaunas biennial UNITEXT”, M. Žilinskas Art Gallery, Kaunas, Lithuania
2013 “She Loves Tomatoes”, “Balta” gallery, Tenerife, Spain
2013 “She Likes Tomatoes”, “GALLERYGALLERY EX”, Kyoto, Japan
2012 “I Love LT”, Kaunas Photographers’ gallery, Kaunas, Lithuania
2012 “She Likes Tomatoes”, J. Monkutė-Marks Museum Gallery, Kėdainiai, Lithuania
2012 “She Likes Tomatoes”, “Artifex” gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania
Group Exhibitions:
2016 7th Lithuanian Textile Biennial “Textile for Body and Soul”, “Arka” gallery, Vilnius/J. Monkutė-Marks Museum Gallery, Kėdainiai, Lithuania
2016 Contemporary art exhibition “Photo-Video-Media-Textile”, National Academy gallery, Kiev, Ukraine
2016 13th Land and environmental art exhibition “Time”, Vilnius University Botanical Garden, Vilnius, Lithuania
2015 Exhibition “Old and New”, J. Monkutė-Marks Museum Gallery, Kėdainiai, Lithuania
2015 Exhibition “Soft”, Kempinski Hotel, Vilnius, Lithuania
2015 5th International Riga Textile Triennial “Diversity&Unity”, Riga, Latvia
2014 Textile exhibition “Shroud of...”, Guimaraes, Portugal
2014 Contemporary art fair ARTVILNIUS’14, Vilnius, Lithuania
2014 Miniature collection exhibition “Golden Fund” / “The Best of Mini Ltextile” Artists’ Association gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia
2014 Exhibition “Covers”, “Trofėjas” gallery, Berlin, Germany
2013 Exhibition “Up & Down”, EU Commission, Brussels, Belgium
2013 Contemporary Lithuanian textile exhibition “LTextile”, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, USA
2012 “Golden Dancing Christmas tree 2013” (project participant), public space, Kaunas, Lithuania
2012 Exhibition-competition “Colour – Mood – Symbol”, “Balta” gallery, Kaunas, Lithuania
Paper presentations
2015 Paper “Textile and Me” delivered at the International Conference on Textile and Fibre Art “Diversity & Unity”, Riga, Latvia
2013 Lecture “Embroidery in Contemporary Textile Art” and creative workshop, Erasmus programme, Art Academy of Latvian, Riga, Latvia
2013 Lecture “New Approach to Sewing and Textile”, Kaunas Country School of Art
Art curating
2016 VAA KF Textile Department student and staff exhibition “Black and White+Mint”, Textile Art Berlin art fair, Berlin, Germany
2013 VAA KF Textile Department student exhibition “Little Collar” as part of “Design Week” events, “Balta” gallery, Kaunas, Lithuania
Awards
2016 Diploma at the 7th Lithuania Textile Biennial “Textile for Body and Soul”, Vilnius, Lithuania
2015-2016 Individual Stipend, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania
2014 Winner of “Best 2013 Art Work” exhibition and honourable mention for Sensitive Memories of a Painful Past, M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art, Kaunas, Lithuania
2013 Individual Stipend, Kaunas City Municipality
2012 Individual Culture and Arts Stipend, Kaunas City Municipality
