Through two archetypes, the mountain and the tree, abstract and figurative merge in the poetic and metaphysical vision of Viktorija Skafaru
Viktorija Skafaru's artistic experimentation moves from the search for structured but essential forms, which come to life from very different cultures, from fourteenth-century Tuscan painting to Orthodox icons up to the Japanese sumi-e tradition, to create her own original language, rich in meditative atmospheres suspended in time. The artist also paints outdoors in the places of her town, taking inspiration from ancient monuments and the vitality of the people he meets.
For the canvases made in oil, the medium of choice, the artist does not use sketches as "creating a work is a process of discovery", where the line corresponds to the gesture, to the movement of the hand that expresses the energy of the moment. Often the figurative elements open onto an abstract background, so much so that the landscape is transformed into an internal, symbolic landscape.
In the series of works Montagne d'incanto only rocks appear, depicted with the essentiality of fourteenth-century paintings; the essence of the mountain is represented there, with a composition that abandons perspective to create forms "without space and time". The rocks seem suspended, in backgrounds of monochrome color where with an optical play the solids and voids mix, or are deconstructed, finally they seem to change consistency and acquire the flexibility of a fabric or the mobility of a fluid. The painted spaces therefore become metaphysical spaces, where the spectator can find in the silence of meditation the essence of a search, like the ascent to the top of a mountain, which however remains inaccessible and retains its mystery.
In the Enchanted Gardens series, landscapes appear completely immersed in a fog that transforms them into abstract surfaces, composed of shades and chromatic variations of blue; Only one element emerges, the tree, which the artist chooses to represent from time to time with a different arboreal essence, an element rich in light, which recalls the preciousness of life, each different and unique. There is also a reference to the ancient traditions of the tree of life, together with the idea that the singular represents the whole in itself, "here and now".
Viktorija Skafaru's art offers the viewer the opportunity to abandon the frenzy of everyday life "beyond the noise of everyday life", to enter the meditative silence of her works and take some steps in art as a path through one's own inner journey.
"I seek to capture the spirit of places, perceive their pulsations and translate them into images without worrying about their objective appearance. I like to confront the idea, to travel in time, to take inspiration from art of the past cultures, ancient civilizations and ethnic traditions. I try to rediscover their formal language and understand their essential meaning by refusing to look at the facts and stories behind. Instead I inspect how the forms are created and what kind of sensations they evoke. I am interested in finding a contemporary way to experience and live the knowledge that does not belong to any time or place but the traces of which appear in mythology, religion, archetypes and symbols" - Viktorija Skafaru
BIO
Born in Klaipeda, Lithuania, she showed a great passion for drawing from an early age. Her encounter with painting took place as a teenager, in front of an impressionist oil painting; it was love at first sight, a passion that would never abandon her, thanks to which she decided to study academic drawing and painting techniques for three years at the "Art Studio Guboja" in her city. Later, to further her education, she graduated at the Academy of Fine Arts of Vilnius as a critic and art historian.
During a trip to Rome, in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, Caravaggio's Conversion of Saint Paul also became her, as she perceived the communicative power and overwhelming emotional impact that art can have. This spark led the artist to move to Italy and decide to dedicate herself exclusively to painting, continuing her artistic training at the art studio of the painter Grazia Carminucci. In 2013 she moved to Tuscany, first to Florence and then to San Gimignano, where she still lives and has her artistic studio.
Since 2012 she has begun to exhibit her works in many international exhibitions and fairs, including in 2017 in Milan on the occasion of MAM, Art and Antiques Exhibition, at the Altomani&Sons Gallery and in Treviso in UFOFABRIK - Artefiera Dolomiti for the Contemporary Art Gallery of Treviso; in 2018 in Vilnius for Horizonts of Creativity – Lithuanian Word Community and in 2022 on the occasion of Artcompensa International Art Fair in Vilnius, Lithuania. Important group exhibition at the La Base Contemporary Art Center in Chambery as a part of the la Saison de la Lituanie 2024 in France. Various personal exhibitions, from The Garden of Secrets in 2015 at the Florence Art Gallery, to IG Take Over at the Institute of Lithuanian Culture in 2021, up to the personal exhibition in 2022 in San Gimignano, in the Sala della Cultura, 2023 at the Atelier Aura in Chambery (France) and 2025 in Klaipeda (Lithuania) at the KUFA Culture Fabric. Some works are on display in the permanent collections of the Istituto Scudi San Marino in Florence and in the Art Museum of Lithuania in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 2022 the artist was chosen for the creation of the Drappellone, a banner for the "Giostra dei Bastoni" on the occasion of the Palio of San Gimignano; finally, in her city she holds painting courses dedicated to landscape for an international audience.
Artist featured by Saatchi Art in a collecion
Exhibitions
up-coming
6/7 - 12/7 2025
in action. International art symposium - galerie daliko - krems am der donau, austria (group)
2025
viktorija skafaru personal exhibition - KUFA culture factory with the patronage of the municipality of klaipeda city - klaipeda, lithuania
2024
Je ne peaux t’entendre qu’en silence: la saison de la lituanie en france - la base. malraux scene nationale - chambery/savoie, france (group: Aurelija Althoffer, Kunigunda Dineikaite, viktorija skafaru, ruta jusionyte. curator N.J.Miller)
between the two silences : Viktorija Skafaru and Aurelija Althoffer - Ramybė galery - Palanga , Lithuania
2023
Viktorija Skafaru: artistee invitee du mois d'aout - l'atelier Aura - organised by association Balta - Chambery, France (Personal)
2022
Viktorija Skafaru: Codice DeLight - sala di cultura di San Gimignano - personal exhibition with the patronage of Cavalieri di Santa Fina and municipality of San Gimignano - San Gimignano, Italia (Personal)
ART NEEDS NO ROOF 3° Edition - The Municipality of Vilnius, together with the billboard company JCDecaux Lietuva - Vilnius, Lithuania (group)
Il Mantello di San Martino - Charity Art Auction for Ucraine organised by Istituto Scudi di San Martino, Istituto di Scienze Militari Aeronautiche - Florence, Italy (group)
Il Palio - creation of the rag for Giostra dei Bastoni at the Ferrie delle Messi of San Gimignano - Cavalieri di Santa Fina - San Gimignano, Italy (personal)
ArtCompensa International Art Fair - Compensa Hall - Vilnius, Lithuania (group)
Duo Exhibition: Viktorija Skafaru & Virginia Puccianti - Sala della Cancelleria - San Gimignano, Italy (Duo)
2021
IG Take Over - Lithuanian Culture Institute IG - Lithuania (solo)
ART NEEDS NO ROOF 2° Edition - The Municipality of Vilnius, together with the billboard company JCDecaux Lietuva - Vilnius, Lithuania (group)
2020
ART NEEDS NO ROOF - The Municipality of Vilnius, together with the billboard company JCDecaux Lietuva - Vilnius, Lithuania (group)
2019
Via del Arte - Cancelleria art space - San Gimignano, Italy (group)
Artistika festival of the fine arts and music - La rocca di montestaffoli, san gimignano (group)
Art&Vine - showroom | enoteca Pasquini - Poggibonsi (SI), Italy (solo)
2018
Rimantas Kaukenas Charitable Foundation ART Auction with patronage of ambasador of the republic of lithuania Ricardas Slepavicius - Reggio Emiglia, Italy
Artistika festival of the Fine Arts and Music - La Rocca Di Montestaffoli, San Gimignano, Italy (group)
World lithuania: horizonts of creativity - lithuanian world community, lithuanian art museum, with Patronage of the President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite - vilnius, lithuania (group)
Showroom at il carcere - san Gimignano, Italy (solo)
showroom at Il Ceppo Toscano - San gimignano, italy (solo)
CreAzioni - Via del Arte & Perelandra teatro - San Gimignano, Italy (performance)
2017
Istituto Scudi di San Martino XXXIV Edizione Anno 2017 - 11 November 2017 - Palazzo Vecchio, Salone dei Cinquecento - Firenze, Italy
XV colletiva "Il Cenacolo" - Il Cenacolo Art Gallery at Sala della Cultura di San Gimignano - San Gimignano, Italy (group)
Im Dialog: Austria - Italia - Germania - BERTRAND KASS Gallery - Innsbruck, Austria (group)
Tre Giorni D'Arte - FUN ARTE Movimento Artisti LIberi - Marina di Pietrasanta, Italy (group)
La Meraviglia delle Arti in Piandornella - Il CENACOLO Art Gallery - San Gimignano, Italy (group)
Fiera Carrara Giorni d'Arte - FUN ARTE Movimento Artisti Liberi - Carrara, Italy (art fair)
Un Dialogo nell'Arte: Italy-Austria-Bavaria - ArtExpertise - Florence (group)
Artefiera Dolomiti - UFOFABRIK Contemporary Art Gallery - Treviso, Italy (art fair)
MAM Mostra a Milano Arte e Antiquariato - ALTOMANI&SONS Gallery - Milano, Italy (art fair)
2016
Art Becoming - Art House gallery - Bagno Vignoni, Italy (group)
2015
Garden of Secrets - Villa Le Palazzine - Florence, Italy (solo)
Giardino dei Segreti - Firenze Art Gallery - Florence, Italy (solo)
2014
Vero Falso - I Fossi - San Gimignano, Italy (solo)
Arte Insieme - Museo Pietraia dei Poeti, San Benedetto, Italy (group)
2013
Pro Arte Natale - guest at "Petit", San Benedetto, Italy (solo)
Dipingi un canto - Palazzina Azzura, San Benedetto, Italy (group)
Arte Insieme - Museo Pietraia dei Poeti, San Benedetto, Italy (group)
2012
Sagra dell'Arte - Pedaso, Italy (group)
Ristoro al Porto con Pro Arte - San Benedetto, Italy (group)
Rondo con Pro Arte - San Benedetto, Italy (group)
Arte Insieme - Museo Pietraia dei Poeti, San Benedetto, Italy (group)
Collections
LITHUANIAN ART MUSEUM collection (2018) - Vilnius, Lithuania
Istituto Scudi di San Martino collection (2017) - Florence, Italy
Private collection, Florence (Italy)
Private collection, Turin (Italy)
Private collection, Verona (Italy)
Private collection, San Gimignano (Italy)
Private collection, Ohio (USA)
Private collection, Edmonton (Canada)
Private collection, Wien (Austria)
Private collection, Perth (Australia)
Private collection, Bali (Indonesia)
Private collection, Vilnius (Lithuania)
Private collection, Klaipeda (Lithuania)
Catalogue
Viktorija Skafaru: Codice DeLight, 2022 - personal exhibition catalogue - San Gimignano, Italy
World lithuania: horizonts of creativity, 2018. lithuanian art museum - Vilnius, lithuania
Arte Insieme, 2014. Museo Pietraia dei Poeti - San Benedetto, italy
Arte Insieme, 2013. Museo Pietraia dei Poeti - San Benedetto, italy
Arte Insieme, 2012. Museo Pietraia dei Poeti - San Benedetto, italy
Media
https://saisonlituanie.com/event/je-ne-peux-tentendre-quen-silence/
https://www.moka-mag.com/agenda/je-ne-peux-tentendre-quen-silence
https://www.odsradio.com/agenda/event/50142/expo-je-ne-peux-t-entendre-qu-en-silence
https://www.exibart.com/evento-arte/je-ne-peaux-tentendre-quen-silence/
https://ve.lt/renginiai/ramybes-galerija-palangoje-pradeda-parodu-sezona?page=2
https://www.15min.lt/kultura/naujiena/naujienos/lietuvos-ir-pasaulio-lietuviu-dailininku-susitikimas-1104-997072#_
http://www.itlietuviai.it/florencijos-lietuve-viktorija-skafaru-supratau-kad-niekada-nebusiu-tokia-kaip-italai/
https://www.widewalls.ch/artist/viktorija-skafaru/
http://met.provincia.fi.it/news.aspx?n=316329
https://www.exibart.com/evento-arte/dialogo-nellarte-italia-austria-baviera/
https://www.osservatorelibero.it/2017/11/09/scudi-san-martino-2017-premiati/
https://www.lagazzettadellospettacolo.it/costume/43323-scudi-di-san-martino-2017/
https://fineartshippers.com/ufofabrik-at-the-venice-biennale-2019/