Sharp and Gentle Painting

"In Junija's work the great pictorial ability of the artist is evident, moreover all her calm and composure is evident. The brushstrokes and colors that Junija uses bring to mind feelings of calm and tranquility, her work is a sort of door that leads us into a state of mind of peace. It is very clear that in addition to the skilful hand of the artist there is in her the great ability to listen to her heart, the artist is able to listen to her emotions and express them through colours. Meeting Junija's work means discovering hidden emotions, and getting in touch with our spirit." - Art Curator Vanessa Viti (Italy) Hello, I’m Junija Galejeva, a painter and musicologist, based in Vilnius, Lithuania, where I work as an editor for the national radio program LRT Klasika and lecture on the history of baroque opera at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. I cannot say that I only pick up the brush when something has inspired me or "hit me." I feel the urge to paint in my right hand and somewhere in the scruff area all the time, and if I don't paint for more than three weeks, I get irritable or melancholic. It's only when I paint that I feel alive. I participate in charity activities and group exhibitions as a member of the Lithuanian group of painters "Devyni vėjai." I also take part in international exhibitions and have held seven solo exhibitions. I have so far participated in over 50 exhibitions in Lithuania and Europe. Painting is like composing music on canvas. I'm used to hearing people say they see music in my paintings. As a musicologist, I know the language of music "from within," and I approach painting with a musician's mentality. Probably that's why abstraction is closer to me. It is important to me to keep the artwork open to interpretation by the viewer so that there is something new to see each time. Just as you listen to music, you hear it differently each time and it is always very personal. I strive to make the painting dynamic, with a musical movement that expresses a flow of time and thought. But it is not only music that inspires me. Rather, music is a way of thinking. I am inspired by nature, exhibitions, theatre, philosophy, psychology, science fiction, and myths. It enables me to view the world more broadly, as though from the side, to find some really important things in daily life—ideas, thoughts and emotions—that purify the soul.