Title: Marija and Daughter

Date: 2024

Description: This is one of the final paintings in the “Summer” series, which is a part of the artist’s doctoral dissertation titled “Traces of the Goddess in the Web of Multiversum.” The body of work was inspired by the figure of Marija Gimbutas (1921–1994), an archaeologist and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Gimbutas conducted extensive research into the matristic cultures of Old Europe (Neolithic period). In her dissertation, the artist undertook a reconstruction of her own female lineage through a series of portraits of women important to her, as well as animal and plant archetypes—believing that the feminine element belongs to all beings, regardless of gender or species.

The painting depicts a young Marija Gimbutas holding her daughter, Rasa. The work was inspired by Raphael’s depictions of the Madonna and Child. It serves as an allegory for the intergenerational transmission along the female lineage—a flow of wisdom with roots reaching back to the Neolithic cultures of Old Europe, and perhaps even further to the Venus of Lespugue (23,000 BCE), or even beyond…

The portrait emphasizes the motif of mutual holding (care) between women. Marija’s daughter holds a small ball in her hands—a symbol of a new beginning. Marija holds her daughter, and both are supported by the green arms of the goddess—the same ones that appear in the portrait of Louise Bourgeois. This triple gesture symbolizes the feminine aspect and a message of coexistence and mutuality. In the lower-left corner of the composition, the black eyes and beak of an owl are visible. The owl’s eyes are a symbol of regeneration, a process led by death.

Technique, dimension: oil on canvas, 65 × 55 cm cm

First showing: 2026, Alina Foundation

Ownership: Monika Waraxa