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Ornela Ramašauskaitė /Photo by V. Makovskaja

LRT.lt

Art market expert and head of the agency artxchange Global, Ornela Ramašauskaitė, is currently curating one of Azerbaijan's most promising artists, Mouk. This September, Mouk held a portrait painting workshop at the Amres Art gallery in Vilnius, an experience that proved enriching and unexpected for both the artist and the four sitters involved. How can portrait painting transform into a journey of self-discovery and growth, and ultimately serve as a manifesto for living more slowly, authentically, and thoughtfully? We speak with Ornela Ramašauskaitė and share insights from the workshop organizer Rasa Baltė Balčiūnienė, the four sitters, and Mouk himself.

- Ornela, can you describe your current work and where you are focusing most of your energy?

- With nearly two decades of international experience, networking, and academic studies, I’ve earned the title of an art market expert, which to many sounds exotic. Over the past few years, I’ve lived between several countries - Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Greece, Moldova - actively engaging in cultural and creative industries consulting and conducting academic research. I also teach at universities.

Currently, I’m dedicating most of my energy to developing my art market services, launching a newsletter, and completing my dissertation. Additionally, I’m curating several artists and have won an AABS (U.S.) project to develop a platform showcasing selected 20th- and 21st- century Baltic painters. This platform will enable international collectors and curators to easily explore the most significant or promising artists.

My passion for art and interdisciplinary specialization has also led me to join the Amedeo Modigliani Foundation’s board, opening doors to international markets. My unique expertise spans cultural economics, art investment, pricing of artworks, art market marketing, and artTech. My dissertation has deepened my understanding of geopolitics and artificial intelligence issues.

- You are currently representing Mouk, a promising young Azerbaijani artist, and introducing his work in Lithuania. How did Azerbaijan come into your orbit? What would you say about the art scene in that country?

- I entered Azerbaijan quite unexpectedly - while participating in a business accelerator with my artTech project, I connected with international experts who introduced me to the country. This led to an invitation from the Ministry of Culture to join a delegation preparing a study on the development of cultural and creative industries in Azerbaijan and to participate in a cultural economy conference. Later, I returned to give lectures and host workshops, and eventually organized a Lithuanian Culture Week at the Azerbaijan National Art Museum. At a high-profile intercultural dialogue forum, I represented the topic of cultural and creative industries. Azerbaijan invests heavily in innovation and development, inviting top international experts. I enjoy working in such a results-driven environment.

The Azerbaijani art ecosystem, however, is still developing - it lacks auction houses and a professional art fair, which are essential for market circulation. While the classical painting tradition is strong, young artists are not taught to think conceptually. However, there are a few contemporary art platforms that showcase the latest trends. This makes it a fertile ground for spotting and investing in talented individuals early, as evidenced by Lithuania's own experience. Global trends are also shifting toward art from countries previously considered "exotic." The best artists can rapidly gain international recognition. Investing in art is highly specialized, and emerging markets offer the greatest potential for returns.

- Why did you decide to represent Mouk and commit to growing his recognition and value over the next ten years? How does his art resonate with the present moment?

- Discovering artists with the potential for international success is very rare. We often admire the modern and postmodern art greats in museums without considering that thousands of artists from that period simply did not survive. In today's overwhelming flow of information, finding talent is very difficult. Moreover, talent alone is not enough – the person must be conceptual, have something to say through their art, possess a strong and ambitious character, be able to communicate and collaborate, and be inclined to grow through constant learning.

I am not a gallerist; I work as an agent, so it’s important for me that the artist whose career I support shares values that are close to mine – I want to contribute to the success of personalities that impress me. I notice that clients are increasingly interested in the values of artists, purchasing not only works of art but also investing in the personality and philosophy that the artist conveys. So, when I met Mouk, who is only 20 years old, I realized I had a historic opportunity to help raise an international star – his talent for painting is breathtaking, and his personality is poised to leave a mark on art history. Of course, I face the patient task of delicately guiding the conceptual side of his work and his ego, but the starting criteria are unique. I am excited that in October, with the Italian gallery "89 cento," we will present his works at the "ArtVilnius" art fair.

When talking about Mouk's creativity, it’s important to describe the context: theorists discuss that the term metamodernism fits this era, developing its concept and observing its reflections in the work of contemporary artists from various fields (music, art, cinema, literature). To me, Mouk appeared as a pure representative of this relatively new movement – society has collectively grown tired of the sarcasm, nihilism, and deconstruction of postmodernism, and art is beginning to search for sincerity, truth, and simplicity.

His painting seems to come from the best modernist schools, where control over color and composition is more necessary than any specific concept. The message is never lost, but it is full of psychology and emotion. I see that people are returning to aesthetics – the philosophy of art – and remembering that artists can sensitively grasp what is unseen, yet catalyze responses within us. In the age of artificial intelligence development, authentic creation, mastery of craft, and even sentimentality will become distinctive features.

- In Lithuania, at the "Amres Art" gallery, Mouk held open portrait painting workshops where he painted portraits of four individuals. All four sitters spoke about a surprising, authentic experience that revealed interesting aspects about themselves and deep conversations with the painter. Mouk also painted your portrait, and you’ve mentioned that it was a memorable life experience for you. So, how does Mouk perceive others, feel their personalities, and reflect them on canvas?

- Posing for a portrait is a mindfulness experience – being here and now, motionless, and experiencing the constant gaze of the artist. In these selfie times, we are used to our image, but rarely do we experience such attentive attention that seems to gaze into the soul. It’s interesting to meet the fear of being judged, the expectation of being portrayed from our "better side." Mouk is a sensitive creator with solid academic preparation, having analyzed numerous portraits by various authors, yet he has discovered his own style (tailored to each specific case). So, the magic lies in talent, authenticity, and craftsmanship.

The mentioned portrait workshops provided all participants with authentic experiences that cannot be replicated at will. We plan to repeat this format so that people can once again experience the aristocratic power of slow time and portraits.

- A philosophical question: what place can portrait painting occupy and what meaning can it have in times of image overload and the rapid creation and consumption of images?

- In times of image overload, it would be naive to expect that artists, in rebellion, will stop creating or that society will suddenly begin to ignore visual culture. I want to champion a different, slower gaze and attention to aesthetics and art philosophy. It seems to me that the best symbol of our opinion about overload is an oil painting portrait. What could be more charming in the face of selfie criticism than posing for several hours in a room scented with oil paints, while the artist delves into you through the edge of the canvas? I don’t demonize photography; everything has its place, but a painted portrait is no longer just about an image but something deeper – psychology, the reflection of inner states, and the energy it transmits. A portrait and the entire process behind it can become a personal manifesto to live more slowly, more authentically, and more thoughtfully.

Reflections from the portrait creation workshops

Rasa Baltė Balčiūnienė, Ontopsychologist, founder of the "Amres Art" gallery: "The process of creating portraits and the live exhibition at the 'Amres Art' gallery opened up to me primarily as a new form of self-discovery and development. For both the sitter and the artist. The genre of portraiture goes back to ancient civilizations, later becoming an expression of social status, and with the advent of photography, it began to fade. However, after this event - experiment, I see that it can be reborn in a new form. Creating portraits is indeed a deep psychological process, a form of coaching  -  you come to a talented, sensitive artist who can 'read' your states and reflect them in the painting. If the sitter arrives in a strong, positive state, they will later remember it when seeing their portrait and be able to return to that state. If they come in a weaker, more fragile state, they will have a reminder of that mood. In other words, the portrait becomes a reminder of how you can feel and a criterion of how you would like to feel."

Daiva Lialytė, Sitter, Owner of a Communication Agency: "I came to the portrait workshops without expectations, as it was my first experience of this kind. For some reason, throughout the process, I kept laughing, but when the artist finished the portrait and I was about to get up to look at it, tension rose. I saw my image in the portrait – strict, tough – I imagine that to many people, I might appear like this from the outside until they get to know me. And that anticipation of seeing how someone else, a person who doesn’t know you, will see you is actually both exciting and frightening."

Daiva Viskontienė, Sitter, Businesswoman: "I had never posed for anyone before – I felt some tension because of the new acquaintance and the thought that someone was 'reading' me, but later I was able to relax and slowly build a relationship with the artist. In my portrait, the sadness was captured, which prompted me to reflect quite a bit. After the portrait was painted, I immediately shared its photo with my children and two friends, and this shows me the acceptance of this emotion, the acceptance of myself. I am happy about that."

Gilma Teodora Gylytė, Sitter, Architect: "Sitting in front of Mouk, I didn’t feel like a model or an object for a future painting. For me, this experience was, first and foremost, a conversation, a relationship with an interesting artist, the result of which materialized in a tangible expression. While talking, I felt his penetrating gaze; I would say it was a sort of psychotherapeutic session. It was very interesting to see the result – contrasting, yet simultaneously radical and gentle aspects of my character."

Justas Kučinskas, Philosopher, Movement Teacher: "I didn’t feel like I was being studied or observed, and the fact that I was posing wasn’t the most important theme, although I kept remembering it. The artist’s gaze on me immediately turned into the movement of his hand – I felt connected to his hand. And when looking at the result – the portrait – I first see a work that has its own rhythm, color palette, and energy. Something deep inside me was stirred, touched."

Mouk, Artist: "I never know how the final result will look. There are many ways to paint the same person’s portrait, and it becomes clearer to us as we talk, as people tell their stories, as they take a certain pose, and so on. My hand then almost chooses on its own how to paint."

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