Grey Cube Gallery proudly presents the third Floral online art show for the month of October 2023. The show encompassed a range of artistic styles and mediums (oil on canvas, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, photography, digital art, ink, colored pencil, bronze). Each submission has been judged based on the following elements of artistic expression: orginality and quality of art, overall design, creativity, interpretation of the theme, demonstration of artistic ability and usage of medium. Out of all entries, 110 artworks were shortlisted for inclusion in the show. The competition attracted entries from many countries across the world: USA, Taiwan, Canada, China, Australia, Lithuania, Germany, France and Latvia. Enjoy the show and thank you for expressing an interest in our competition.

My current oil paintings of colorful, engaging, but otherwise overlooked and isolated flora are magnified to reveal their importance. My Subject matter is discovered from remote to obvious locations across the country. Coming from an orientation in abstraction, my choice to work in a close focus hyper-realistic style remains ever mindful of the abstraction that exists in nature. These paintings examine mark making, and the nuances of color and light in nature. This process involves the close observation of many aspects of landscape and the amplification of these images. They magnify a moment in time, and in nature, when plants are at the peak of their reproductive cycle and are fully asserting their seductive beauty/perfection/ splendor/ripeness. The focus has been on select blooms to show the importance of their smallest components.

WHAT MATTERS NOW IS NOT THE IMAGE OF THE ART OBJECT - WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT IS ITS PRICE? Tomas Lagūnavičius, an interdisciplinary artist and the author of the Post-Post-Post Cynical Art movement, raises questions that are currently becoming crucial in the field of art: "Artificial intelligence creates an overproduction of images, an oversupply in the art market, where the image and artistic aesthetics are no longer important, and the price of the work becomes the most important object. This is why POSTPOST CIVIL art is pushing to the forefront. It is an art that not only deconstructs the impact that postmodernism has had on the art world, but also reveals the main characteristics of contemporary art. The first characteristic is IMAGE IMPORTANCE. It's not even about whether a work of art is beautiful or ugly, it's about HOW MUCH DOES THE ART COST? OR HOW MUCH IT ATTRACTS IN PROJECT FUNDS? Post-post cynical art puts this out there and its main art object is not the content, but the dimensions of the painting, the material it is made of, the copyright, etc. The price of a work of art has no relation whatsoever to what the painting is. It all depends on the circumstances, on the place where the art object is exhibited, on the curator who curates the exhibition and other factors. In this interactive "Image Overproduction. What Price?", 16 diptychs (double paintings) will be exhibited, revealing one of the aspects of contemporary art - the price of a work of art, which you, the viewers, will be able to set and change.

My art passion is derived from nature which was instrumental in my interest in botanical art illustration. That might be a flower, a leaf, a tree or an animal. I use colored pencils to create representational art showing the soul of animals and the intricacies of botanicals. When I was a small child, I would spend time in the woods with my sketch books, drawing leaves. I was always fascinated by the details in nature. I am continually intrigued by the realism achieved by colored pencils. In addition to creating my own colored pencil works of art, I also teach several kinds of art both in person and online. I have won several awards for my colored pencil art and my artwork has been included in the NC Museum of Art for the Dutch Art in a Global Age Exhibit. I continue to learn from others as much as possible in my endeavor to constantly improve my skills.

Concern for humanity has been the core theme of my art. I observe the feelings of those around me. I see life stories in faces and gestures. When I read great literature, I distill the expressions of the characters and seek to understand the author’s insights and intent. Music often congers sculptural images in me. Concepts, as they evolve in my mind, often represent my deepest feelings, and, in modeling those images, the feelings most often take on human form. My sculptures are often light and lively. Works are designed to complement their architectural setting. As I visualize fundamental emotions, I seek to organize my emotions and insights into three dimensions as I seek to breathe life into inert clay, bronze, or stone, the medium that I’m working. With levity, movement, and concern for humanity, I seek to define abstract forms that best symbolize the embodiment of my overall vision. Usually, my initial concept is visualized on paper before evolving into sculpture. Although using realistic forms, I break down a sculptural concept into its most fundamental abstract forms – for example, into circles, triangles, and squares – the images emerge as are often found in nature. By integrating these abstractions into a realistic statement, my hope is that I’m able to stir universal feelings in others.