10 Questions with Artist Name

Marika Junikajtes is a mixed media artist based near Frankfurt, Germany. Her work spans expressive portraiture, abstract compositions, and fantastical worlds, each rooted in personal experience and emotional symbolism.

She paints on canvas using acrylics, oils, fluid acrylics, and pouring mediums. Her portraits explore themes of identity, vulnerability, and strength through a lens of abstract realism. In contrast, her dreamlike pieces, such as cosmic animals or surreal characters, invite viewers into symbolic inner landscapes. Music, especially Chopin, plays a vital role in her process, helping her sustain the emotional tone of each painting.

Her recent series, Four Seasons, explores the cyclical nature of life, while her current series, Strength Wears Black, reflects themes of presence and quiet power in a reduced visual language.

Marika’s work resonates with collectors seeking emotionally honest pieces that go beyond decoration, artworks that remain, connect, and quietly speak.

www.marikajunikajtes.com | @marikajunikajtes

ARTIST STATEMENT

There was a turning point in Marika Junikajtes’ life when she realised she no longer wanted to spend her precious time on things that lacked meaning or impact. She became deeply aware of the beauty in everyday moments and how easily they slip away while waiting for something extraordinary that may never come.

This realisation led her to art. Becoming a professional artist was not just a career choice, but a commitment to bringing beauty, joy, and emotional connection into people’s lives through painting.

Her work invites viewers to feel deeply, to be fully present, and to believe in their best selves. She explores her own reflections on life, death, and joy through expressive portraits and fantastical scenes.

A quote that continues to guide her comes from Bettina von Arnim:
”Nur der mit Leichtigkeit, mit Freude und Lust die Welt sich zu erhalten weiß, der hält sie fest.”
Marika hopes her art contributes to that.

Mystical Lady Of Autumn, Mixed Media on Canvas, 30x40 cm, 2025 © Marika Junikajtes

INTERVIEW

Let's start from the basics. Can you tell us how your journey as an artist began?

I was a child who painted. Freely, joyfully, without expectations. And then, at some point, I stopped. I don't even know why. In 2024, a profound personal loss shook my world to its core. In the wake of that rupture, I began a search for identity and inner truth. I meditated, reflected, and wrote. And eventually, I found my way back to art.
What began with simple mandalas and zentangles soon evolved into a deeper, more intimate exploration of my inner self. By autumn of that year, the decision had taken root: I didn't want to create on the side. I wanted to devote myself fully to art as the central axis of my life. I shared that decision with my family on Christmas Eve. I didn't know if I could do it. But I knew I had to try. On February 20, 2025, I painted my first portrait. From that day on, painting stopped being a side note. It became a core part of who I am.
My artistic path is rooted deeply in my heart, and I follow it with conviction. Even if my journey as an artist is still young, my themes are not. They have lived inside me for a long time.

You've said that becoming an artist was a turning point in your life. What moment or realisation led to that decision?

2024 was a year that shook my life to the core. A personal loss turned everything upside down: my daily life, my career, my identity. I felt empty. A part of me was missing. And even today, that space remains empty. It probably always will. Instead of falling back into old patterns, I began to truly listen to myself, even though my mind kept arguing otherwise. During long walks, still evenings, moments of silence, and many tears, a voice began to speak inside me. A voice I had ignored for far too long. It was the urge to create. To feel. To paint. I want my art to touch people. To bring joy. To offer comfort. To remind them to stay true to themselves and walk their own path. It wasn't a loud explosion. It was more like a deep inner awakening. I remember the moment I thought: Why am I wasting my precious time on things that neither touch me nor create anything meaningful? I realised that it's the small moments that truly matter. And that we shouldn't spend our entire lives waiting for something extraordinary to happen, only to one day realise that we never truly lived.
That insight was my turning point. It wasn't romantic. It was necessary. It was marked by fear and deeply moving at the same time. And it became the first step toward a life that, for the first time in a long while, feels truly alive again.

Beauty Of Summer, Mixed Media on Canvas, 30x40 cm, 2025 © Marika Junikajtes

Your work spans expressive portraits, abstractions, and fantastical imagery. How do you decide which direction to take when starting a new piece?

Before I begin a new piece, I already have a clear sense of direction. I consciously decide whether it will be a portrait or a fantastical scene. At times, the two layers come together, forming a piece that carries elements of both portrait and fantasy. Much of my work takes shape in series. This way, I deliberately define early on how I want to engage with each theme. From the very beginning, Strength Wears Black was envisioned as a tribute to women, their resilience, their pain, and the strength woven into their presence. The series tells the stories of women who have experienced pain, but who are not broken. Quite the opposite. Their fractures are part of their beauty. Inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi, where broken ceramics are mended with gold, this series does not hide pain; it makes it visible. Every scar becomes a trace of healing, of dignity, of strength. It is a tribute to the silent perseverance. To all those who continue on in silence, unseen, and whose strength lies precisely in that quiet endurance. One of the paintings from this series is currently paused. The emotions it brings to the surface are still too overwhelming. I know I have to give it space. Only when I'm ready will it be ready too.
My fantastical worlds, by contrast, often emerge from inner questions or intense reflections. One example is my piece Galaxy, a work that appears playful at first glance, but upon closer observation, evokes the existential vastness of the universe and reflects our own limitations. At the centre sits a small hedgehog, a silent observer poised between childlike imagination and metaphysical depth. There are times when my focus shifts almost entirely to portraits. I'm drawn to the invisible layers of human experience, to what's unspoken, suspended in between, and lingers in silence.
Even when I already know many elements in advance, the dominant colours, the composition, and the format, each work evolves during the process. Layer by layer, I respond to material, colour and form, observing closely and making every decision in dialogue with the work itself.
Music is often with me in the studio, especially Chopin. When I'm unsure where to begin, I let the music fill the room while I mix my colours. Slowly, the process finds its rhythm, and the work begins to take shape.

Music, especially Chopin, plays a big role in your process. How do you translate sound into visual form?

Music, especially Chopin, leads me into a state of surrender, a different level of awareness, where thought gives way to feeling. I no longer plan each brushstroke. Instead, I begin to listen inward, to the soft pull of what wants to take form. Certain pieces awaken very specific emotions in me: longing, hope, fragmentation, or a gentle kind of joy. These emotions find their way into the colours I choose, the rhythm of my hand, sometimes even into the depth of a gaze in a portrait.
It's not a translation in any technical sense. It's resonance, an inner echo that becomes visible through paint. Music turns into feeling, and that feeling becomes an image. In these moments, I feel connected to something larger than myself. To depth. To intuition. To something that exists beyond words.

Joy Of Spring, Mixed Media on Canvas, 30x40 cm, 2025 © Marika Junikajtes

Lightness Of Winter, Mixed Media On Canvas, 30x40 cm, 2025 © Marika Junikajtes

Do you follow a specific routine in the studio, or do you work more intuitively?

I follow a clear studio routine that gives me structure and focus. At the same time, I leave space for intuition. My week is well-structured: painting sessions, professional development, social media, outreach, administrative work, and intentional breaks each have their place in my calendar. I decide ahead of time which artworks I want to focus on and which themes to deepen. But once I'm in the creative process and sense something unfolding, I stay open. Flow always takes priority.
As I paint, I document different stages through photos and videos, partly for my website and social media, but also for myself. It helps me reflect, track my decisions, and stay aware of the process. Even signing a piece is something I approach with care. It is never just a finishing touch. Sometimes it takes days until that final moment feels right.
In the evening, I prepare the space for the next day. I clean my tools, organise my palette, and leave everything ready. That way, I can begin the next morning fully present and ready to create.

Your portraits often explore identity and vulnerability. Do you see them as self-reflections, or do they speak more broadly to the human condition?

My portraits always hold both a personal reflection and a universal theme. I often begin with my own emotions, thoughts, and inner questions, but it never stays there. What moves me usually carries a social resonance as well. I see patterns, parallels, and recurring forms of vulnerability within myself and in others.
What captivates me is what isn't seen at first glance. The silence. The overlooked. The subtle fractures beneath the surface. We wear masks so often. Sometimes, we even forget they're there. What moves us isn't the visible. It's what lies underneath. People don't see themselves in the face I paint, but in what gently shimmers through, something that lives within many of us.
My work does not offer answers. It opens spaces. Not everything can be captured in words. Some truths reveal themselves in colour, in a gaze, in a crack in the surface, a silent language that speaks beneath the surface, directly to what's within.

The Weight Of Petals, Mixed Media on Canvas, 40x50 cm, 2025 © Marika Junikajtes

In your current series, Strength Wears Black, you work with a reduced visual language. What inspired this shift, and what does 'quiet power' mean to you?

Strength Wears Black is built on conscious reduction. I chose to leave many things unsaid in order to express more. The visual language is not broken or stripped down; it is distilled. Composed. A deliberate gesture toward the essential.
For me, black is a colour of expression. It speaks of clarity, of presence, of depth. It does not have to signal mourning. It can embody strength. Resolve. A line that holds its ground. The inspiration came from a deep inner need: to make visible what so often remains unseen. The women in this series do not put their wounds on display, but neither do they conceal them. They are fully present, with dignity, with grace and grounded strength. They are still here. Because everything they went through became part of their strength. Each painting in this series carries its own story. Take Silence Is My Shield, for instance: The clear, unwavering gaze speaks of quiet strength and of a silent, profound connection with the one who looks back. The darkness hasn't been denied. It has been transformed. The lips, the neck, they seem like delicate traces of healing, visible and honest. Silence has become a space where something new can begin.
Quiet power, to me, means being clear without being loud. Moving forward without applause. Not out of rebellion, but from self-respect. It is an inner rising, the knowing that something new can grow from pain. Vulnerability is not a flaw. It is part of who we are. When someone dares to show themselves as they are, they create a connection. Authenticity. And in that lies true strength.
Especially in a world that often mistakes loudness for meaning, this kind of strength offers a thoughtful alternative. A deliberate counterpoint. It doesn't ask for attention. It deserves it. Those who have learned to rise without applause no longer need a stage.

The quote by Bettina von Arnim seems central to your philosophy. How does it influence your creative practice?

This quote has been with me since 2024, since the loss that changed everything. It found me in a moment when the world shifted, when nothing was as it was before. Since then, it has become a steady anchor. It reminds me to listen to my heart. Not to chase or force anything, but to be present. To trust the voice within. It is woven into the memory of someone who meant the world to me. His essence, his way of being, his warmth, none of that has disappeared. It lingers. Some connections don't end. They become something else. This quote brings me back when I lose myself, back to connection, to trust, to the joy of creating, even when everything feels heavy. It reminds me that beauty lives in the everyday moments. In the here and now. In a smile, in sunlight falling through a window. It teaches me to be grateful. To notice the small moments. And to honour them. Day by day. Not someday. But now.

Many collectors are drawn to the emotional honesty in your paintings. What role does emotional connection play in your art-making? And what do you hope viewers feel or take with them after spending time with your work?

Emotion isn't an accessory in my art; it's the foundation. I can only carry that depth into my work if I can feel it within myself. Suppose something stirs in me, a feeling, a resonance, an inner presence. I can only offer what lives within me, and only when I've treated myself with care, when I've had the space to truly feel. I believe that genuine emotion is tangible. Not through words. But through atmosphere. Through the language of a gaze. Through colour that resonates like music. Through spaces that remain open, intentionally, meaningfully. I want my work to be more than something you see. I want it to be something that resonates. That stirs a memory, awakens a longing, or simply creates a moment of presence.If a painting reaches someone, moves something beneath the surface, or stays with them for a while, then it has found its voice.

And lastly, what are your plans for the future? Do you have any upcoming shows, collaborations, or publications you can share with our readers?

I don't make rigid plans, but I do have goals. And they are clear. In the years ahead, I want to keep creating, not only new artworks, but also to grow as an artist. As someone building something meaningful. As a human being. I wish for visibility, not driven by attention, but because I believe my work has something to give. I'm shaping my path so that it can evolve: with high-quality prints, collector's pieces, and a community that values my art, carries it forward, and grows alongside it. My current focus lies in continuing the Strength Wears Black series. At the same time, the theme of freedom resonates deeply with me: freedom in connection with the universe, with mythical creatures, with boundlessness. My core value - trust, honesty, transparency - flows into everything I do, both in message and in method. Sustainability isn't an afterthought for me. It's an integral part of my vision. Long term, I want to work with companies that develop fair and recycled materials for paints, canvases, prints, and packaging. I want to create works that speak to the heart and endure in their physical form. Because only what lasts can leave a lasting mark. I believe in synergy. In new spaces that open through interactions. And I don't just want my paintings to hang in rooms. I want them to open rooms: for memories, for dialogue, for connection. Whether in a private collection, a museum, or a gallery of my own, my goal is to create something that remains. Something that touches. That remembers. Something that brings us back to what we are. Because that's what we need. More than ever.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.

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