Interview
Aurėja Jucevičiūtė
Aurėja is a Lithuanian graphic designer and illustrator. Her portfolio is wide, ranging from digital conceptual projects, kinetics, traditional artworks, fantastic illustrations with an allusion to ethnography, to abstract philosophical visualizations of music.
Born in 1993, Aurėja studied at Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts, Kaunas Faculty (VDA KF), where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, both in graphic design. She has also been to Kaunas Maironis University Gymnasium, and the Kaunas 1st School of Music.
Aurėja actively participates in creative workshops both in Lithuania and abroad, and takes part in various graphic design and visual art competitions. She is interested in history, music, and other areas of art. She is also interested in Lithuanian history and the work of Lithuanian composers, continuing to search for opportunities to reveal it through visual means, making it resonate.
In 2022, in collaboration with textile artist Agnietė Vitkūnienė, sound artist Rūta Reutaitė, and a group of multipart songs singers SASUTALAS, she created an installation depicting traditional Lithuanian songs in a modern way. This project is continuous and has been displayed in several cultural places in Lithuania. The project is supported by the Lithuanian Council of Culture.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I grew up in the Lithuanian city, Kaunas, surrounded by a creative environment. My mother was a creative personality and enjoyed dancing and acting, but she eventually chose medicine as a career path. My grandmother was also a very creative person who did acting, dancing, painting and writing. She studied Lithuanian language and literature at the Vilnius University. My brother and I were raised by both my grandmother and mother. Thanks to them, my childhood was very colorful and full of creativity.
The influence of music is visible in most of my works. My main interest in visual arts developed when I started taking drawing and watercolor lessons from my relative, Liucija Zambacevičiūtė, who was a painter. She helped me discover the joy and love in drawing, and encouraged me to study arts. At university, the studies were very intense and interesting. Apart from graphic design, we also learned kinetics, product design, sculpture, installation art, traditional visual arts, and more. During my time at the university, I met many amazing inspirational lecturers such as Laimutė Varkalaitė, who taught me subtlety and aesthetics and had an influence in shaping my style. After graduating, I started experimenting with different techniques and mediums.”
What does your work aim to say? Does it comment on any current social or political issues?
“I seek new forms of expressing deeper experiences and thoughts about one’s existence, world, identity, and cultural heritage. I’m searching for artistic solutions to depict in bright, philosophical yet sensitive, musical ways.
I’ve recently developed an interest in my native traditional Lithuanian culture, and searching for new ways to express this heritage in a modern yet original way.”
“The purpose of art is to arouse better human feelings and cause a desire to change in a good way. Reflecting on today’s world and its problems stimulates willingness to create more art with hope and a positive message for the people.”
Which current art world trends are you following?
“My basic work as a graphic designer is inseparable from understanding the newest trends. I usually combine modern trends with archaic details. For example, abstraction portrays middle age century architectural forms, music notation and more.”
Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?
“Planning is essential when creating art. There’s a lot more planning that goes into works in the design sphere due to the details involved, while some works like painting, music visualization, kinetics and animation can be done through improvisation. I like to improvise, both with materials and with mediums.”
What process, materials, techniques, etc., do you use to create your artwork?
“I use a wide spectrum of materials and mediums, depending on the idea and artwork itself. I like using traditional art techniques such as drawing, aquarelle and collage, and usually combine it with digital media and photography, and in this way create new forms of art.”
What does your art mean to you?
“My art sometimes is a reflection of my inner world, and at other times is a response to the events which happen around me, or the reflection of an emotion. I enjoy the creation process journey.”
What is your favorite artwork and why?
“I admire the works of the famous Lithuanian painter and composer, M K Čiurlionis, as they have so much symbolism and inner light. I deeply recommend the reader to watch the amazing virtual reality movie ANGELŲ TAKAIS, which includes both his music and paintings. It’s a spectacular piece of work with philosophical, ethereal, sublime emotion. I truly admire it.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“Lately, I’ve been working on an installation project with Lithuanian multipart songs. I’ve created a kinetic visualization of Lithuanian multipart songs which portrays 4 different seasons with different Baltic symbolism. Kinetic projections are displayed on identical white canvas. The project is currently in the creation process now. You can follow these Facebook links to learn more about the project: Kauno Kulturos Centras, Photos, Photos 2, Videos, Videos 2.
On July 6, 2020, I held my first personal exhibition, ‘Kunigaikščių giesmės’, (in English ‘Songs of the Dukes’) at the Kaunas Garrison Officers' Club Building, where works on the themes of musical imagination and Lithuanian culture were exhibited.
My graphic images representing musical sounds were evaluated in an international context in 2016 when they were included in an international CANVAS graphic design trend-shaping design works. My graphic works have also been published in several international visual identity, logo design catalogs such as: Logo talks IV (2016), Sandu Publishing Fully Visualized: Branding Stories features (2018), DesignerBooks Special Technology(2017), Top Graphic Design Series Brochure Layout III, Hightone Publishing (2015).”
