Samsara

Ugnė Žilytė was born in 1979 in Vilnius into a family of artists and writers. In 1997 she graduated from the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts, majoring in graphic arts. In 2004, she graduated from the Vilnius Academy of Arts with a Master's degree in Graphic Arts.

Despite the fact that the old techniques of  printmaking are losing their popularity, just like academic drawing, U. Žilytė chooses them as her means of expression, thus becoming an exceptional artist in the contemporary context. When asked about her love for realistic drawing, the artist says: "When I was a child, I was often ill. My father used to illustrate children's books - realistically, very realistically, as children like. When the doctor came to visit me when I was sick, she was going to write out a prescription, and to make it more convenient, she put the book next to it. She was very upset when she tried unsuccessfully several times to grab the paper clip she had drawn in it... Things and people in my father's drawings looked alive! For me, this was the greatest miracle - I wanted to be able to do it too."

She tells stories through strong drawing, she puts together plots in which cultural and social references, various symbols, are overlapped in several layers, and you won't find empty decorative details in these works. When you see the titles of the works, you will quickly notice that many of her works are inspired by the world of Lithuanian literature. 

U. Žilytė teaches academic drawing and graphic arts at the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts, and is a contributing artist to the cultural weekly "Literature and Art". Member of the Lithuanian Artists' Union, since 2014 a member of the Society of Secret Draawers. Participates in exhibitions in Lithuania and abroad since 2001, laureate of graphic art biennials and other competitions.