Artwork in the room
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+
The painting captures a serene rural landscape, possibly in the early spring or late winter as suggested by the barren tree prominently placed in the foreground. The tree’s leafless branches stretch out towards a sky filled with flowing and gentle pale blue strokes, mixed with hints of white, suggesting clouds or a brisk, clear day. Below the tree, the earth is composed of loosely applied patches of brown, ochre, and muted greens, indicating fallow fields or freshly turned soil waiting for new growth. In the background, a collection of farm buildings, painted in stark whites and deep reds, draws the eye. The roofs, tinged with the same red as the dominant, larger structures, stand out vividly against the subdued sky. The architecture is simple and robust, characteristic of rural settlements. Small white windows suggest human habitation but there's no visible activity, enhancing the painting's quiet, almost still atmosphere. The perspective is slightly elevated, looking down onto a path or a small road, patchy with snow or possibly remnants of frost, leading towards the farmstead. This track is bordered by golden and rushe tones, possibly dried grass or leftover straw from the past season, adding texture and depth to the scene. The overall composition balances elements of solitude and resilience characteristic of rural life.
