Vita Schagen on Palette-Knife Marks, Italy's Pull and Her First Sale
Vita Schagen, based in Amsterdam and frequently visiting Italy, produces a blend of loose paintings alongside realistic still lifes. She attributes her renewed interest in representational art to Italy, remarking, "There is something beautiful around practically every corner." Currently, she emphasizes palette-knife techniques that hint at forms without fully defining them. On Singulart, she showcases "Kaleidoscope Eye," noted for its vibrant colors and familiar imagery. Two decades ago, she sold her inaugural painting, motivated by a request from a grieving mother. Today, she mainly focuses on impasto works measuring 40 × 50 cm, often depicting public libraries and women seen from behind, while appreciating feedback from collectors, despite her introverted disposition.
Key facts
- Vita Schagen is based in Amsterdam and spends substantial time in Italy, which she says keeps drawing her back toward recognisable subjects
- She focuses on how a single palette-knife mark can hold multiple colours, imply form and leave visual discovery for the viewer
- Schagen identifies "Kaleidoscope Eye" as the work on her Singulart profile best representing her current practice
- Her first sale came about twenty years ago, when a woman whose son had died asked to buy a painting he had said expressed him
- She now devotes much of her practice to impasto paintings around 40 × 50 cm intended for everyday domestic settings
- Public libraries and women seen from behind are recurring subjects she returns to repeatedly
- She does not categorise her work in a fixed style and does not tailor subjects to collectors' countries
- Her paintings are held in private collections across multiple countries
Entities
Artists
- Vita Schagen
Institutions
- Singulart
- Singulart Magazine
Locations
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Italy