For one day a beautiful villa on the Gold Coast of Zurich became an inspiring meeting place for Lithuanian and American art. The cosmopolitan audience of art lovers, residing in Zurich, visited the exhibition “Zurich - Where Vilnius Meets New York” on the 21st of April.

The exhibition was organised by a contemporary art boutique ART GODA that presented a selection of paintings and sculptures created by artists from Lithuania and USA: abstract paintings and sculptures by Aloyzas Smilingis (Lithuania), paintings on evolon by R.Wayne Reynolds (USA) as well as contemporary sculpture, created by three Lithuanian artists belonging to two different generations — Vladas Kanciauskas, Aurelija Simkute and Gediminas Endriekus.

Twelve paintings and two bronze sculptures by Aloyzas Smilingis represented his continuous creative path from 1974 to 2018 — from still lifes, to colourful and positive abstract expressionism and biomorphic bronze forms. 

R.Wayne Reynolds demonstrated his powerful comeback after staying away from art for 23 years. Eleven acrylic paintings on white evolon, a part of “The Earth Series, It’s Not Ours!”, reminded the viewers that Earth is just our temporary home and we are not taking good care of it. The artist used  a unique technique that is being developed since 2009 and is enriching his paintings with dynamic random patterns.

The audience was tempted to touch two nature inspired sculptures by Vladas Kanciauskas, open the door of the bronze planet and it’s inhabitant sculptured by Aurelija Simkute and were charmed by Passers-by that walked out of Gedmininas Endriekus studio.

A one day pop-up exhibition demonstrated that art has no boundaries — neither geographic nor time-related ones. Artworks, created by artists from different parts of the world, driven by different creative ideas and using different techniques interacted harmoniously with the audience and with each other. 

About Aloyzas Smilingis (Elis), 1938, Vilnius

Aloyzas Smilingis is an abstract painter and sculptor. Determination to become a professional artist led him to the Academy of Arts in Vilnius and search for self-expression brought him into the three dimensional world of sculpture. Bronze, granite and other materials obeyed him and despite his non-conformist approach and mode of expression, artist became famous in the former Soviet Union. His large scale sculptures decorated many of public spaces. Painting was also an important part of his career. The artist resides and works in Lithuania. His artworks are owned by several Lithuanian museums and belong to private collectors in Australia, Italy, USA, UK, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Lithuania, Iceland and Japan.

About R. Wayne Reynolds, 1953, New York

R. Wayne Reynolds is a professional artist from the United States. He obtained a degree in painting from The Maryland Institute, Collage of Art. He founded a gilding company right after graduation and dedicated his career to this remarkable craft. However, the passion for creating art never left him. It was waiting quietly in the background for 23 years, until it could not hold off any longer - Wayne sold his gilding company to Sotheby's and started painting and exhibiting again in 2009.

His mysterious, colourful paintings and black and white drawings are inspired by nature and remind us about the infinitive circle of life. Collectors in the USA are already familiar with his artworks and now Wayne is widening the horizons by introducing his art to art lovers in Europe.

About Vladas Kanciauskas, 1945, Vilnius

The author of indoor and outdoor sculptures, describes himself as a symbolist. His works combine different materials: granite and marble, steel and bronze. He emphasises line and colour, reflections and shadows and is inspired by nature, so often impressive animals, plants and insects are reproduced from stone and metal.

In 1989-1990 Vladas improved his skills and knowledge in USA. He is an active participant of symposiums in exhibitions. His sculptures are owned by private collectors in Germany, USA, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania and Israel.

About Aurelija Simkute, 1982, Vilnius

Young and talented Lithuanian artist began her career as a jeweller. With her growth as an artist her creations grew as well and now she is making strong steps towards the world of sculpture. Her art is full of positive emotions — compassion, tenderness, happiness, humour and sometimes self-reflective sarcasm.

It becomes clear at a glance that her sculptures have been made with jeweller’s precision and motherly tenderness. Charming bronze characters tell interesting and powerful stories about of life and feelings.

About Gediminas Endriekus, 1982 Vilnius

It is not easy to locate this sculptor in the contemporary world of information and media. That’s because Gediminas is not chasing fame and titles — the process of creation is all that matters to him.

The artist chose to isolate himself from the hectic world and unnecessary influences. His art is inspired by feelings, visions from the past and current emotional state. Some of his sculptures are realistic and figurative, others remind of phantasmagoric creatures or plants from other worlds.