Monika Plioplyte

STATEMENT 

Monika Plioplyte collages printed and cut paper, photographs, and other materials into narrative structures that explore reflections on the past, the transmission of information, gender, and states of "in-betweenness" as they relate to her immigrant experience. Her practice is driven by Lithuanian Baltic folklore, female archetypes, personal rituals, and the uncanny, integrating these themes through intricate textile-inspired patterns. These patterns function as metaphors for the flow and exchange of information, while linking personal narratives to broader systems of collective identity and knowledge. Through printmaking, photography, performance, and installation, Plioplyte uses abstracted folk symbols rooted in nature worship, and her own body as both object and subject to create a visual language that reflects on layered meanings of inhabiting human body and our collective connection to the earth, examining 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, Boundary Space, Monique Meloche, Columbia College Chicago and Mana Contemporary in Illinois; Rare Visions in Colorado; Harvard Davis Center, 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.