This painting from Gytis Arošius's latest series, "The Absence of the Present," invites the viewer into an introspective experience through its reflective surfaces. Painted on mirror film, the works allow the observer to physically merge with the artwork, blurring the boundary between painting and viewer. Inspired by Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and the Art Deco vision of a future shaped by rapid technological change, Arošius explores the tension between past ideals, present disillusionment, and future uncertainties.

Grounded in retrofuturism and informed by Brutalist architecture and Cold War imagery, Arošius’s work reflects societal anxieties, alienation, and an ever-present sense of decline. The use of reflective surfaces evokes a sense of illusion, drawing parallels between today’s overwhelming visual noise and the fading grandeur of past utopian visions. Arošius creates a disquieting atmosphere where past, present, and future converge, prompting the viewer to question their own place in time and the elusive nature of the "now."