Arvydas Kašauskas was born in 1959 in Vilnius. From 1977 to 1982, he studied fresco and mosaic at the Vilnius Academy of Arts.
“The quality of art remains a matter of the author’s ambition and integrity,” says Kašauskas. In simple terms, art is good when the artist cares and stays honest.
Kašauskas was trained in monumental art—a discipline focused on scale, structure, and permanence. This background still shapes his work today. He approaches painting not as simple depiction, but as construction: each piece is built, carrying a sense of weight and space.
After the fall of the Soviet regime, he began working independently, moving from public, state-commissioned frescoes to more intimate canvas works. While the scale changed, his material approach remained.
Paint is not just applied—it is scraped, pressed, and layered, creating dense, tactile surfaces. His work balances control with unpredictability.
Looking back, Kašauskas describes his early artistic drive as a search for “a brighter, more compelling life,” shaped by a time when art held a distinct cultural role.
Today, he sees creativity as something open to everyone—not limited to artists, but available to anyone shaping their life with intention.
Landscape remains a constant in his work. Often painting outdoors, he draws from the energy of place and shared creative experience. Even in abstraction, nature is still present—reduced to rhythm, form, and space.
For Kašauskas, every painting is, ultimately, an abstraction.
About this artwork+
"Composition II" by Arvydas Kašauskas is a striking abstract oil painting rich in texture and complexity. The canvas is filled with a diverse assortment of brushstrokes, layers, and patches of color that suggest a fragmented and bustling urban landscape, or possibly a dynamic assemblage of memories or emotions. The color palette consists primarily of neutral tones—whites, grays, and blacks—with bold accents of reds and smaller patches of blues and yellows that bring vibrancy and depth to the composition. The use of sharp contrasts and the tactile quality of the paint application create a sense of motion and energy. Each segment of the painting, while abstract, hints at possible interpretations like buildings, sky, or reflective surfaces, inviting viewers to impose their own meaning on the seemingly chaotic ensemble. This creates an engaging visual experience, as the eye roves across the surface to connect dots and form personal associations. The signature "AK-S" at the bottom right suggests the artist's identity and perhaps marks the year of creation. The artwork seems to capture a moment of both rupture and continuity, possibly representing the continuously changing nature of life or the urban environment, emphasizing the fragmentation and rebuilding inherent in both.
