“Shvaiko – Romantic Walkways”
 

In 2003, Nuance had the privilege of hosting a one-man show for Viktor Shvaiko. Beneath his quiet sincere demeanor lies a very passionate romantic artist who sees the beauty in the world. Viktor shared that he resides in upstate New York because of his love of cold weather where he enjoys snow skiing, hiking in the snow, and having snowball fights with his family. During his stay he visited Ybor City and fell in love with the old Spanish/Cuban charm of Old Tampa. We are planning our second show for Viktor, in 2006 because of the popular demand for this exciting artist.

Shvaiko Bio - Viktor was born on August 23, 1965. As he was growing up, he became aware of his love of animals, cold weather, his family and art. At the age of 12, he entered The Junior Art School. Right from the beginning, he felt a fascination for detail. After studying there and at the Specialized School of Art for four years, he was drafted into the army for two years as an artist. He looked at his time spent in the army with little pleasure, but three things were instilled in him: Never be late; never lie; always keep your word.

Originally from Siberia, Viktor painted his way out of then USSR through Europe, to end up in New York City. His story is one of overcoming adversity. His paintings capture the beauty of Europe’s cobblestone streets, small candle-lit bistros and the ambiance of old world romance and sparked an intense following in New York. He then became known throughout the world as he began creating hand-enhanced serigraphs on canvas, which were a tremendous success with collectors. Recently he has become well known for his compositions of wine bottles and French posters. He has been noted as saying, “Wine is a subject that is not easily put into a literal description. Wine has an emotional characteristic that has an experience that unites all. All the senses of life are enriched by this liquid elixir- the taste, the aromatic potency, the elusive colors and the feel are forever haunting and not easily put on canvas. The underlying atmosphere that is created by the wine is that it is not just a mere drink, but also an ever-evolving story that will forever be a part of our romantic vision.”

Adversity has been a large part of Viktor’s life. After being in the service, he traveled
across the USSR, without money hopping freight trains. There were many times he went without food and struggled to survive. He married and left for Yugoslavia, leaving his wife behind. Along the way, he drew sketches and painted when he could. After traveling through Hungary and Yugoslavia, he chanced being shot slipping across the border into Italy with only five
dollars to his name. After sleeping outside with other homeless people and having no food to eat, he met up with some other Russian émigrés and things started to change. There was food to eat, and after finding $60 on the ground, he started painting again and selling his pieces. After being in Italy for months, he found out legally staying in Italy was a dead-end situation. Returning to the USSR he found that much had changed since he had left. Travel to foreign countries, especially the West, had become much easier. He bought two invitations, for he and his wife to visit the United States. He got a visa to come to the US, but his wife was turned down. Viktor arrived alone in New York City in December of 1992. He did not speak English or know anyone in the U.S. After taking any job he could, he slowly started painting and, accompanied by a Russian friend who spoke English, they began to go to galleries in Soho to show his work. One gallery expressed interest in his pieces and things began to get better. Finally, after a separation of fifteen months, he was able to bring his wife Valentina and daughter Elvira to America.