Nikias Skapinakis

Nikias Skapinakis (Lisbon, 1931 – Lisbon, 2020), an artist of Greek origin, born in Lisbon, is one of the most important names in the Portuguese painting of the 20th century, known as «master of colour and shape». He did not complete the Architecture course at the Lisbon Fine Arts School, but through it he found his vocation for the visual arts. He started showing his work in 1948, at the III Plastic Arts General Exhibition, and this early he demonstrated his preference for treating the themes through coloured shapes, to which he remained faithful throughout his work. Since then, he did various solo exhibitions, and his name was a regular presence in group exhibitions in Portugal and abroad. Besides painting, he also dedicated himself to lithography, screen printing, book illustration – such as Quando os Lobos Uivam (Aquilino Ribeiro, 1958) and Andamento Holandês (Vitorino Nemésio, 1983) – and to art criticism. He received the Malhoa scholarship from the Fine Arts National Society, in 1963, and a research scholarship, from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in 1976/77. He is the author of a panel for the renovation of Café A Brasileira (1971) and of the panel “Cortina Mirabolante” for the Lisbon subway (2005). The first of various anthological exhibitions was at the Modern Art Centre of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in 1985, followed by another at the Chiado Museum, in 1996, at the Serralves Museum, in 2000 and more recently, in 2012, at the Berardo Collection Museum. In his career, immensely awarded and recognized, he received the AICA - SEC critics award, in 1990, and the Amadeo Souza-Cardoso National Prize, in 2005. In 2007, a documentary about his work was produced. His capacity to portray the Lisbon cultural universe of the 60’s and 70’s was one of his most acclaimed characteristics, and his work is therefore represented in the most important private and public collections of Portugal.

 

FMV, September 2020