On December 6 at 5 p.m., the Vilnius art space GODÒ Gallery (Malūnų St. 6A-12, Vilnius) opens artist Evelina Paukštytė’s solo exhibition “Slapukai” (Cookies).
The exhibition presents a painting cycle of the same title – “Slapukai” – a conceptual project the artist has been developing since 2023, merging fiction and reality, personal mythology and reflections on contemporary culture. This cycle is less a series of individual paintings and more a single visual metaphor, broken into multifaceted fragments yet always returning to Vilnius as a point of origin, a center of consciousness, or a black hole capable of pulling in light, darkness, love – in other words, everything. It is worth noting that the initial idea for the exhibition was dedicated to the city of Vilnius; however, over the two years it has shifted somewhat, and the city’s direct influence has faded or lost some of its relevance.
“Slapukai” is a multilayered expression of the artist’s personal mythology, where symbols continuously recur or transform, creating a cohesive yet paradoxically fragmented narrative. In the artist’s work, the cookies assume a playful but ambiguous form: smiling, peaceful, yet observing suspiciously and intruding uninvited into action, gradually taking on human traits. Harmless at first glance, barely noticeable helpers in the virtual realm transform in her paintings into malicious little cookie-creatures that manipulate the narrative and its meaning.
In creating “Slapukai”, the artist chooses Lithuanian writer Ričardas Gavelis and his work as her ideological guide. She admires the intricacy of his thoughts and insights, his irony, dense imagery, aesthetic of repulsion, expressions of corporeality, multilayeredness, provocation, and the writer’s public stance and way of thinking. This creative influence is not direct – it unfolds as an inner flow, an intellectual rhythm close to the artist’s own mindset. Creative manifestations akin to Gavelis’s worldview appear clearly in her work: some have accompanied her art for many years as an aesthetic signature, like the pink-skinned gymnasts persistently climbing from painting to painting, while others continue to mature, searching for their own authentic forms of expression. Gavelis’s quotation from Vilnius Poker – “We are all wretched cookies; not a single one of us is worth trusting” – becomes a conceptual highlight that brings mystery and existential anxiety to the cycle.
Ultimately, this exhibition is an attempt to understand why, after living a quarter of a century in Vilnius, it is still so difficult to let this city close to one’s heart. What is the origin of that cold feeling that emerges like an urban leech, reminding us that Vilnius is a city where nothing is ever entirely clear or comforting?
The exhibition will feature artworks created between 2023 and 2025.
The exhibition is supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture.
The exhibition runs until January 31, 2026; admission is free.
About the artist:
In 2006, Evelina Paukštytė received her bachelor’s degree in Graphic Arts from the Vilnius Academy of Arts, and in 2008 she earned her master’s degree in the same field. In 2001, she completed her studies at Kaunas Art School, receiving a master ceramist diploma, and for her final work – the sculptural composition Tree of the World — she was awarded the prestigious main prize established by the renowned sculptor Juozas Zikaras.
Since 2011, she has been a member of the Lithuanian Artists’ Association.
The artist has held solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions in Lithuania and abroad, including Poland, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Ukraine, Israel, Croatia, and others.
In 2025 and 2023, at the contemporary art fair ArtVilnius, Evelina Paukštytė – presented by GODÒ Gallery – received the Audience Choice Award. In 2025, her solo presentation at the fair also earned the gallery the jury recognition TOP7 Gallery (one of the seven best galleries at ArtVilnius’25).
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Gallery address: Malūnų St. 6A-12, Vilnius
Gallery opening hours: Tue-Fri 13:00-19:00, Sat 12:00-18:00