Pastel painting without noise, a silent creative manifesto of the painter Eugenijus Uljanovas

Pastel painting without noise, a silent creative manifesto of the painter Eugenijus UljanovasPainter Eugenijus Uljanovs lives and works in Šiauliai, Lithuania. He became acquainted with the basics of fine arts and art at the Šiauliai Art School. After a break since 2022, the artist has immersed himself in the world of abstract art. During that period, the artist organized two personal exhibitions, participated in a collective exhibition of Lithuanian artists, thus beginning to participate in artist exhibitions abroad, and collaborates with the Public Institution “Gabrielegallery”.Eugenijus, when creating paintings, experiments, uses various materials and techniques. By experimenting, not adhering to a single stylistic style in the creative process, the artist expresses himself more freely. This can be not only complete freedom of paint, form, texture and color, but also images that have acquired a more material form. At the beginning of the creative process, there is no final image. From the first to the last movement, improvisation takes place, there is always a “plan B”. In the artist’s words: “The feeling of surprise is brutally driving.”Currently, Eugenijus's painting process reveals two creative directions that are in dialogue with each other – gestural abstraction created with a brush and the structures of layers of cast acrylic.The first group of works is dominated by an intuitive, lively painterly gesture. Here, the very touch to the canvas is important – the stroke, its direction, intensity and interruption. The flows, runs and overlapping layers of paint create atmospheric spaces reminiscent of internal landscapes. These are fragile, changing states in which the form constantly balances between emergence and disappearance.In the second part of the works, artistic expression moves to the processuality of the material. Here, cast acrylic acts as an independent force – the paint flows, connects, decomposes and forms organic structures. The lines and networks that emerge resemble natural systems: water currents, tangles of roots or microscopic tissues. In these works, not only the result is important, but also the process itself – the interaction of chance and control.Both directions meet in a common research space, which examines the relationship between human gesture and natural processes. On the one hand, it is a conscious, emotional action, on the other hand, it is letting the material speak for itself. This dialogue opens up the border zone between control and release, between structure and chaos.This is a painting about transformation: about how form is born, changes and disappears, leaving only traces of movement, time and material.In the world of contemporary art, which is often dominated by bright gestures, conceptual noise and a constant desire to shock, the work of Eugene Ulyanov stands out for its peculiar restraint. His pastel painting is not only a technique, but also a posture: a silent, consistent manifesto that opens the inner world, inviting the viewer to stop.In Ulyanovas pastels  paintings, pastel becomes not a means of demonstrating colors, but a sensitive instrument of dialogue. Soft tones, subtle transitions and slow layering allow not the surface, but the state to reveal itself. This is a painting that does not seek to be immediately understood - it works gradually, almost imperceptibly, penetrating the viewer's experience.This "noiseless" principle is especially pronounced in the composition. In his work, the painter Eugene Ulyanov avoids excessive details, dramatic contrasts or aggressive forms. Instead, he chooses an aesthetic of emptiness and silence, in which every pause is important. Time is often felt in his paintings - not as a chronology, but as a state experienced. It is time that flows slowly, allowing you to look inside.The pastel technique here takes on a philosophical dimension. The fragile pigment, the easily damaged surface and the intimacy of the hand movement create a special relationship with the material. The painter does not just create an image - he constantly balances between control and chance. This fragility becomes an essential part of the work, reminding of transience and sensitivity.The manifesto of the work of the painter Eugene Ulyanov is not declarative. It is not written in intertexts or slogans – it is born in the works themselves. It is an invitation to turn to silence as a value, to a slow gaze as a way of knowing. His painting offers an alternative to rapid consumption: instead of an instant effect – a long-term connection.Today, when visual culture often becomes an excess of information, Uljanov’s pastels remind us of a different way of looking. Of the ability to be with a work without haste, without preconceived expectations. This is art that does not demand attention – it earns it quietly.Therefore, “pastel painting without noise” is not just a poetic description. It is a consistent creative journey of the author, testifying that true expression may not be the loudest, but the deepest. Eugenijus Uljanov’s works speak quietly, but that is precisely why they remain.Art critic Gabrielė Kuizinaitė