Vytas Kapociunas - Artist

Arriving in Australia as a six year old "displaced person" from Central Europe after the Second World War has affected Vytas Kapociunas' attitude to life and art. Vytas identifies with the struggles of ordinary people, their daily toil, joy, and creation of personal sanctuaries. It is social comment that characterises his artwork more than stylistic inheritance from his Lithuanian origins. He also identifies closely with the arid Australian hinterland and its inhabitants. In recent years, the Malaysian people and landscape have also provided a rich source of inspiration for his work.

Vytas grew up in Adelaide, graduating from the South Australian School of Art with a travelling scholarship. He won the national Goya Awardin 1964, and spent his early post-graduate years in Spain, France and England, where he exhibited widely. He has also worked in Asia, especially in South Asia, and in other parts of Europe and the United States. He began lecturing at the South Australian School of Art in 1965, and spent three years on diplomatic posting in Malaysia, and three in South Korea, and is presently residing in Washington DC with his wife, Jane, who is Counsellor (Congressional Liaison) at the Embassy of Australia.

Vytas retired from the University of South Australia (Art School), after 30 years.

Taken from his website http://vytaskapociunas.webs.com/worksfromwashingtondc.htm