You Are a Circle Expanded: Monika Plioplyte

November 7, 2024–February 14, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 5-7p.m.

Monika Plioplyte's multidisciplinary practice intertwines elements of Baltic folklore, gender identity, and the immigrant experience, using printed and cut paper, photographs, and mixed media to create narrative structures that transcend the personal and cultural. In her latest exhibition, You Are a Circle Expanded, Monika delves deeper into her ongoing exploration of weaving patterns, not just as decorative symbols but as carriers of both emotional resonance and cultural memory.

Her work reflects a study of the weaver’s knot as both a physical and emotional metaphor, creating collages that echo Baltic Pagan symbols, myths, and female archetypes. Monika's paper-based textile compositions evoke open-ended narratives that explore the intersections of personal ritual and collective myth. This exhibition navigates the intricacies of weaving itself, peeling back layers to reveal the abstract textures within its structure, while simultaneously placing the viewer within a broader narrative such as the intimate setting of a table, where the threads of daily life intersect with the symbolic, transforming the ordinary into something poetic.

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, Columbia College Chicago Glass Curtain Gallery and Monique Meloche Gallery in Illinois; Rare Visions in Colorado; 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.

This project is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Programming:
Art Now lecture, Wednesday, November 13, 6:00-7:30p.m. Film Row Cinema, 8th floor, 1104 South Wabash.

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Exhibition Contact: Mark Porter, mporter@colum.edu
Gallery Hours: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.