Autumn, 1995

Aloyzas Smilingis  

Aloyzas Smilingis (Elis) was born in a village and had no relation to professional art in his childhood, although his artistic abilities appeared at an early age. He saw his first painting at the age of seventeen and was so impressed that he decided to become an artist. Elis entered Vilnius Institute of Art without any prior preparation where he have studied graphics. He quitted graphics straight after the graduation as well as he quitted with the current socialist methods, so the artist was not welcome at the exhibitions and did not have so many commissions. Elis was interested in painting and sculpture. He started working with granite, established a bronze foundry for sculptures. Every time when he got tired from sculpture, he took the brush in his hands and created paintings. "Artistic ideas are more important than dependence on some workshop of faithfulness to one genre or style. I am not keen on reproducing myself. My thinking is changing and so does my art. I remain self-critical and walk on", said Elis. After the collapse of the Soviet Union painter and sculptor had a chance to visit the West and get acquainted with the collections in best museums of New York, Amsterdam, London and meet famous artists. This had a great effect on his esthetical views. Meeting Willem de Kooning was the most impressive event in Elis career. He visited his studio in East Hampton, NY, where they shared ideas and artistic views. "I understood that the value of art does not depend on the number of exhibitions, nor prestigious projects, critics or curators. It is not my problem where my piece will be hanging and who will be showing it in some exhibition after a hundred years. That is why I don't go out in the public and don't waste my energy preparing for shows and projects. People who are interested in my art find me and sometimes take away the works that are difficult to let go", says Elis, who calls himself a free artist. In his seventies, to the surprise of his family, Elis mastered digital technology and started creating impressive digital abstractions. Artist resides and works in Lithuania, his art is owned by several Lithuanian museums and belongs to private collectors in Australia, Italy, USA, UK, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Lithuania and Japan.