Monika Plioplyte

STATEMENT 

Monika Plioplyte collages printed and cut paper, photographs, and other materials into narrative structures to explore memory, language, and states of “in-betweenness” shaped by her immigrant experience. Plioplyte's practice is rooted in Lithuanian Baltic folklore, female archetypes, personal rituals, and the uncanny, weaving these themes into textile-inspired patterns. These patterns serve as metaphors for the flow and exchange of information, reflecting on the invisible and abstract concepts - such as myths, memory, and language - that shape our world, while linking personal narratives with broader systems of collective identity and knowledge. Through printmaking, photography, performance, and installation, Plioplyte develops a personal pictorial interlanguage drawn from nature, folk symbols, and her own body - both as subject and object. The work examines the layered meanings of inhabiting the human body and our shared connection to the earth, reflecting on how these relationships shape identity, memory, and belonging.


BIO

Born in Lithuania, Monika Plioplyte immigrated to the US in her early teens. She holds an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Plioplyte has exhibited nationally at venues including the Hyde Park Art Center, Northern Illinois Art Museum, Monique Meloche, Columbia College Chicago, Boundary Space and Mana Contemporary in Illinois; Rare Visions in Colorado; Davis Center at Harvard University, AREA Gallery and Gallery Kayafas in Boston. Residencies include MASS MoCa, The Center Program at Hyde Park Art Center, the Harris Barron Fellowship for Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and a Vermont Studio Center Fellowship. She has received grants from the Illinois Arts Council, the DCASE Individual Artists Program, the John W. Kurtich Foundation, and the Blanche E. Colman Foundation. Plioplyte lives and works in Chicago.