We had a pleasant interview with Gaya Lastovjak, a Lithuanian figurative artist living in Poland, on her art life.
–Hi Gaya. Can you tell us about yourself?
Hello Resul, thank you very much for inviting me to participate in this wonderful publication.
My name is Gaya Lastovjak and I am a contemporary figurative artist creating three-dimensional paintings with my own technique using paper-mache, canvas and oil paint. I was born in Lithuania but spent most of my life in Poland. I am a self-taught artist with a master’s degree in art history. As a person I value peace, but on the other hand I worrie too much about everything, so I look for calm in books, mainly classics of world literature (my grandmother was a teacher and she instilled in me a love of books). My parents, who are musicians, made me a music lover, I value and respect family as well as traditions. I like both classical and contemporary art, love going to museums and admiring the beauty that human hands can create. Developing is important to me, looking for new sources of inspiration, expanding knowledge and simply be a better person.
–When and how did your interest in art begin?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to create something, be it drawing with crayons and modeling in plasticine as a child or painting with oil paints and sculpting in wood or plaster as an adult. I tried a lot of artistic techniques looking for the most suitable for me. There was a period of fascination with realistic painting and pop art. I dealt with black and white analog photography, I even tried to create metal sculptures and for some time I was dealing with batik – a painting technique based on applying wax and bathing the fabric in a dye that dyes only the places not covered with a layer of wax. Each of these areas was a very interesting experience and certainly had an impact on what I create today. So one cannot talk about the beginning of my fascination with art, because it has always been present in my life, to a greater or lesser extent.
–Where did your fascination with hands, faces and the human body come from?
The fascination with human appeared gradually. Painting landscapes or still life did not absorb me. Human is filled with a whole range of emotions and that fascinates me the most. In my works, body language is very important due to the power of the message, shaping the meanings and content of the work of art. Just like the body, the hands play a very important role in communication. All my paintings have a symbolic meaning, I build their message with body language. The human body has become a way for me to communicate with the viewer, convey specific content, talk and draw attention to current events in the world. Thanks to this, I try to stop the viewers for a moment and make them think about themselves and the world around them.
–Can you talk about your technique?
My first three-dimensional white painting was created in 2007, but I was looking for this form much earlier, still in high school. After much searching, I decided that I like the sculpture the most, but also the structure of the oil paint. Knowing the classic techniques of sculpture – plaster, clay, wood, metal – all these types were too heavy and needed a separate studio, and I didn’t have the conditions for it, not to mention ceramics. We had paper-mache classes and I really liked this light and plastic, though not easy material. It requires a lot of patience and time, but it was also incredibly calming for me. I’ve been perfecting my technique for many years, so please forgive me if I don’t give you a recipe for it, it’s my little secret. All I can say is that creating one painting requires a lot of work and is very time-consuming, a larger format sometimes takes several months, so paintings are created in parallel. The artwork titled “Game” stood the longest. It is a never-ending painting, with new faces appearing from time to time. The previous version with dimensions of 360x160x6 cm was created for several years (because I was still creating as a hobby), the latest version with dimensions of 280x120x6 cm took me about eight months.
–What do you aim to tell art lovers in your works?
In my works, most often I raise issues related to emotions, current events in the world or create what I feel at a particular moment. The main theme of my work is the good and bad side of the human nature. Some paintings criticize behavior such as falsehood, conspiracy or betrayal, others – glorify and praise good human qualities such as cooperation, support or respect for another person. My paintings are very diverse in terms of both form and subject matter. Most are figurative works, but there are also geometric or minimalist paintings. I try to simplify the form to strengthen its message, make the artwork more legible but also pleasing to the eye. I also want to convey my view of the world to the viewers and make the work of art not only a decoration, but that it also have a voice in conveying important content.
–What are the elements that inspire you?
I am inspired by many things. I used to look for inspiration in the works of other artists, but over time I do it less because ideas come to my mind spontaneously, I see the finished painting in my head. I am convinced that this is the result of many years of studying a huge amount of works of art during my studies. My husband laughs that I have an art database in my head. Maybe there’s something to it? That’s why we learn all our lives, to enrich our knowledge and increase something like a database in our head? But not only visual art inspires me, quite often other media such as sounds or reading come to my imagination. That is why I believe that self-improvement and enriching one’s knowledge is so important
–What do you like to do besides art? What are your hobbies?
Apart from art, which turned from a hobby to a fascination and ultimately my whole life is literature. I like reading very much. Favorite writers include Dickens, Mark Twain, Cervantes, but also books by Louisa May Alcott and Alexandre Dumas. As a hobby, I was interested in handicrafts, I painted on cotton bags. As a child, I sang in a family band and danced in a folk group. Currently, I would not have time for anything new, because art and its promotion takes me all the time, but who knows what the future will bring.
–Can you tell us about the exhibitions you have attended so far and the projects you plan to realize in the near future?
I currently have 34 international and national exhibitions, the most important of which are the Art Fair in Monaco and the Art Biennale in Venice. This year I am taking part in a very important event for me – the XIV Art Biennale in Florence which will take place in the fall. My dream and I will work hard to make it come true is to participate in exhibitions in the largest galleries and museums of contemporary art in the world. It must be remembered that talent is only a small percentage of success, the rest is hard work, determination, patience and perseverance.
–Finally, what would you like to say to our readers?
I would like to tell readers to have their small or big dreams and try to pursue them, so that they are not afraid to create their reality, however difficult it may be. To make your dreams come true you have to try all the time, don’t give up and try again, because it’s better to fail a few times than not to try at all.
https://www.singulart.com/en/artist/gaya-lastovjak-34024
https://www.instagram.com/gayalastovjak/
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