To the average American, the name Gintarė (ghin-TAH-rey) doesn’t generally ring a bell. Mention her name in Europe, however, and you can almost certainly expect to get some exclamations of praise.
Gintarė Jautakaitė was born in Lithuania and, as a very young child, exhibited an extraordinary talent for singing. After winning a singing contest at the age of 6, Gintarė’s fate as a musician was sealed. She was accepted into the famed Stasys Šimkus Conservatory in Lithuania and received degrees in classical piano and jazz. Upon winning a young pop artist’s singing competition in Ukraine in 1981, her career as a pop singer was born. She became a European starlet, performing for thousands of fans over the years, eventually signing a major record deal with EMI Records in England as well as a publishing contract with Sony. She spent the early 2000s hitting the top-10 spot on the British pop charts and working with famed musical artists including the Bee Gees, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. She even performed for Pope John Paul II during his 1992 tour.
Her career brought her to America in 1982, where she gained her citizenship soon after. After living and working in big cities such as London, New York City and Washington, D.C., she found herself residing in the small coastal town of Camden, Maine. With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantine, she found herself stuck at home and itching to do something new and challenging. She decided to teach herself to oil paint!
Throughout her life, the famed musician had dabbled in painting but never before did she have the time to spend hours at an easel. By watching YouTube videos and practicing her newfound craft for over a year, she gained her voice in oil painting, and she is now ready to add “fine artist” to her already-impressive repertoire.
Her first-ever fine art show, “Sinking Gardens,” is currently on display at the Sohns Gallery in The Rock & Art Shop in downtown Bangor. “Sinking Gardens” is a statement about the dangers of climate change and rising ocean levels, a subject she found herself reflecting on heavily while living on the Maine coast. Her stunning and moody yet whimsical floral waterscapes are passionately rendered and display remarkable skill as well as vision.
“Sinking Gardens” is on display at the Sohns Gallery located in the Rock & Art Shop from Feb. 21 to April 3. A reception is being held at the gallery from 5 to 6 p.m. March 4. An artist talk will begin at 5:30 p.m.
