Monika Furmana
1978 Born in Vilnius, Lithuania
Monika Furmana is a Lithuanian visual artist known for her paintings and collages.
Furmana’s work primarily explores the female body through collage-based painting, integrating masses of bodies and objects. Her art examines self-perception, gender constructs, identity crises, and cultural trauma. Often reflecting global issues, her works are dedicated to significant world events, such as “A Victim with a Thousand Faces. Chernobyl”, “Restless Blood. Belarus”, “On the Kurgan. Ukraine”, and “Black Widow.” She frequently employs grotesque surfaces, drawing inspiration from Greek mythology’s interplay of drama and beauty while critically referencing Christian religious connotations. Her mixed-media approach reinforces themes of deconstruction.
Furmana’s works balance elements of photography, painterliness, and sculptural expression, giving them a transformative quality.
Her collages emerged as a response to advertising and beauty standards:
“I began a continuous critique and direct ‘vandalism’ of these images by cutting and assembling my own ‘Frankensteins,’” she says.
Education
• 2010 – Master’s degree in Painting, Vilnius Academy of Arts
• 2016 – PhD in Painting Theory and Practice, Vilnius Academy of Arts
