STATEMENT
Alina Melnikova (1983, Vilnius) is an artist living and working in Barcelona. In her practice, she transforms intangible concepts into visual and tactile experiences, exploring the seductive nature of perception and the interconnected relationship between human culture and nature. Through her work, she challenges conventions of intimacy and identity while questioning anthropocentric perspectives in a world shaped by ecological and technological transformation.
Melnikova’s works often defy categorization, blurring and hybridizing traditional formats such as portrait, landscape, and still life. Central to her process is an archive of uncanny images often blurred, fragmented, or overexposed. By embracing the methodological principles of various media, including oil painting, airbrush, marker drawings, photography, and ceramics, she creates works that restitute human ‘beings’ not as fixed identities, rather as entities in a continuous metamorphic state. This is achieved through her ability to juxtapose the contrasting qualities of the materials she uses, such as the fluidity of oil paints and the fragility of ceramics, crafting sensory experiences that reflect the complexity and multiplicity of the contemporary individuals.
BIO
Born in Vilnius, Lithuania (1983), Alina Melnikova lives and works in Barcelona. She has exhibited her works widely in Europe -Austria, Spain, Germany, Poland and Finland- since graduating from the Vilnius Academy of Arts in 2008.
Through different mediums such as drawing, installation, ceramics, performance and -especially- oil painting, Alina explores visual aspects of seduction through notions of sensuality, sexuality and erotism. In her newest works, A. Melnikova researches the relation between naturality and artificiality and its sociocultural reflections.
Using different media and adding ecological and cultural dimensions to a culturally engaged look, the artist creates visually and semantically multi-layered artifacts.
In 2009, she won the Award for Young Painters in Lithuania; in 2013, she was invited to the international artist residency “La Cité Internationale des Arts” in Paris. In the same year, she was granted Artistic status by the Lithuanian Cultural Ministry.
Her work has been exhibited in art institutions of international importance like the KUMU Contemporary Art Center in Tallinn (Estonia), the CAC of Vilnius (Lithuania), MOCAK Contemporary art center of Krakow (Poland). Alina’s work resides in contemporary art collections such as Dietrich Mateschitz (Red Bull Collection), Lewben Art Foundation and MO Museum. In 2022 her work was included into the book “Lithuanian women artists. Women Artists in the Visual Arts from the Beginning of the 20th Century to the Present Day’’ by A.Narušytė. She has an upcoming show at j. Kasiulis – National Ltinuanian Art Museum at end of 2025.
Parallely, she is an associate member of La Escocesa – analogical art creation center in Barcelona, Spain and forms a part of the Artistic duo together with Italian artist Fabrizio Contarino where she explores collectively engaging creative processes which deal with visual memory related to pop culture.
Education:
2014 Node Center of Curatorial Studies, Curatorial course for artists “Expanding Exhibitions: Innovative Approches to Curating”, Berlin (Germany)
2008 Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts, M. A. in Easel Painting, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2005 Universidad de Miguel Hernández de Elche, Erasmus semester: Painting, installation and video, Altea (Spain)
Awards and Scholarships:
2021 Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artist Association (LIAA) Prize for production of an installation Cosmic Cave
2021 Solo show prize, Lithuanian Authors´ Right Association (LATGA)
2016 Lithuanian Culture Council Scholarship to produce new painting series “Obsession: Re(Virgin)”
2009 Young Painter’s Award in Lithuania, Third Prize: ¨I shall Get You Anyway¨ (Aš vis tiek tave pasieksiu)
2007 – 2008 – SLEIPNIR – Nordic Council of Ministers scholarship: granted to investigate performance art in Finland.
Residencies:
Since 2019 La Escocesa, associate resident, Barcelona (Spain)
2022 Belgrade AIR, Belgrade (Serbia)
2013 La Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (France)
2010 Free Art Celebration Residency, Potsdam (Germany)
2007 Hyyrivitalu Artist Residency, Tampere (Finland)
Art Fairs:
2018 Group show at Fresh Paint Art Fair – Tel-Aviv (Israel), ‘’The Big Picture’’, The Rooster gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania), Art Vienna (Austria)
2017 Group show at YIA – Young International Artists, Paris (France)
2016 Solo show, Berliner Liste Contemporary Art Fair, Berlin (Germany)
Selected Exhibitions:
2022 Sixty Seconds Party, 424 Art Center, Belgrade (Serbia)
2021 Green Night, Sleep Tight, The Rooster Gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2021 Cosmic Coral, Voguing Valleys, Boushy Bouquets, Furry Forests, Espai Souvenir, Barcelona (Spain)
2018 Tropical: Drawing Party, Barrak Art Center, Naha (Japan)
2018 Flash in the Daylight, Vilnius graphic center, (Lithuania)
2016 Dare or Dear, Trivium gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2012 Location Condition: Beauty and The Beast, Šv. Jonas str Gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2008 Carmine, Tulips & Roses Gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2005 Stories in Raum 35, Gallery Raum 35, Vienna (Austria)
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2024 Spectrum 2, Vartai gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2024 Try to make it real. But compared to what?: Contemporary Art from Lithuania. MOCAK, Krakow (Poland)
2023 Religate, La Escocesa, Barcelona (Spain)
2021 Kronos Festival, Arts Santa Monica, Barcelona (Spain)
2021 Exhibition at Locarno Film Festival, Locarno (Switzerland)
2018 The Big Picture, The Rooster gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2012 From Dusk to Dawn, 20 years of LGBT in Lithuania, Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius (Lithuania)
Lithuanian Art: 18 exhibitions, Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2011 Baltikum: Tides of Change, HangArt7, Salzburg (Austria)
2010 Inside of You/ Outside of Me/Inside of You, Gallery 11 Line, Potsdam (Germany)
2009 Turbulence, Vilnius City Hall, Vilnius (Lithaunia)
New Prospect, Vartai Gallery, Vilnius (Lithuania)
2008 PasiJos – Kaunas In Art: Contexts – Contemporary Art Festival, Architect´s House Gallery,
Kaunas (Lithuania)
Elephant Bullet, KUMU Art Museum, Tallinn (Estonia)
Contemporary Lithuanian Art Exhibition “ANEW”, Municipal Gallery bwa, Bydgoszcz (Poland)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
01: INTRODUCTION TO ALINA MELNIKOVA’S WORK (EN)
02: Cosmic corals and magical gardeners by Jordi Garrido
Hänsel * i Gretel *, Publicación Cultural (EN)
https://hanseligretel.cat/es/jordi-garrido-jardiners-magics-i-coralls-cosmics/ (ES)
03: Intrusion into visual space. Alina Melnikova’s “Flash in Daylight”
By Karolina Rimkutė. Published in 7 Art Days newspaper, Nr. 26 (1263), 2018-06-29 (EN)
https://www.7md.lt/daile/2018-06-29/Isibrovimas-i-vaizdine-erdve (LT)
04: Catalog text: from Baltic artists exhibition ‘’Balticum: Tides of Changes’’, 2011 (EN)