Coherent thematic bodies of work
Showing: 14
During the summer semester, I continued my long-standing interest in painting as a space of inner conflict and transformation, focusing on the motifs of protagonism and antagonism. The initial impulse came from Paolo Uccello’s Saint George and the Dragon. I shifted my attention to the spaces of the boiler room and the smokehouse, places where profoundly intense moments charged with existential significance unfolded. Throughout the paintings and objects, motifs such as the dragon, the willow creature (vrbáč), fire, smoke, and the boiler recur as metaphors for repressed aggression, familial tension, and, simultaneously, the longing for purification. Over the course of the semester, I gradually moved away from a more literal depiction of dramatic conflict towards subtler, more open-ended situations in which I seek a greater sense of hope. Motifs of trees, expansive canopies, and roots emerge as “vessels” for emotion, memory, and embodied experience. The notion of “what lies above us” evokes a powerful sense of the presence of something that transcends us, while leaving its interpretation open to the viewer.
13 works in the series
The series of plein air paintings emerges from direct observation of light, colour, and the changing atmosphere of a place. I am increasingly drawn to the openness of the landscape, which becomes a space where reality transforms into a trace of colour.
59 works in the series
Další cesta: Potkávám jednoho – toho samého člověka, V příkrý, pod kopcem, ležím pod levandulí…:vůně: motáme si hlavy. Náruč zaručí blízké propojení, / pokaždé / se však objeví vnucená zápletka. Pleteme si hlavy. (Fakt) Žluté copy, spíš proutky (jak dlouhé?) – dlouhé až k zemi, srůstají s trávou, na níž se minulé, předešlé, ty předtím – neustále vracejí… - zvolám: “Lidi! Já dopadám do toku řeky, kde nepromíjím prominutelné a prostě, jednoduše se nesmím vrátit. Nahmatám tlačítko ZPĚT…ZZZzlozvyk ZLO jako zvyk. Zvykám si na zlo? Obstojně se držím v mdlém tlení, Kde si sama se sebou povídám. “Je to obyčejná otázka?” zeptám se. “Ano, jen je to otázka života a smrti,” odpovím si. Ten samý člověk se nade mnou pousměje – jsem jen reflexí sebe sama? ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ Řeka se zklidní, nevěřícně kouknu do mraků… a najednou zapomenu… Slyším ambientní hudbu, Bez těla se vznesu, Jsem přece ve snu, Ne? U – s – n – u ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… / čas: nejasný / ozařující zrnko světla mne znovu probouzí. My work focuses on themes of personal experiences and feelings, which I translate into paintings through recurring motifs such as light, water, lavender, willows, gravestones, and text. I am interested in the space between what is present and what is slowly disappearing. My paintings in this series usually grow from a feeling, a memory, or a quiet moment, rather than from a fixed story. In this way, I try to capture both melancholy and a sense of calm hope. Alongside painting, I also work with small plaster sculptures and porcelain. These media are connected to my paintings and help me develop my ideas in different forms.
13 works in the series
My bachelor’s thesis Catharsis explores the process of purification, placing emphasis on deeply personal expression through painting as a means of processing repressed emotions. It reflects on my previous works, in which I explored the themes of the bathroom, purification, natural elements (willow and water), and human fragility (porcelain). The symbolism of catharsis is expressed through fantastical figures - willow creatures (vrbáči), mistletoe, and porcelain figurines - all of which refer to inner transformation, the fluidity of identity, and memory. The paintings function as a visual diary of an internal process in which dreams and symbolic narratives become intertwined. Traces of paint, flowing down the body, feed the willow trees. Parasitic mistletoe becomes the bearer of stories. The spaces of the bathroom and nature mirror, overlap, and collide with one another —— while the catharsis brought about by rain unfolds chaotically, the catharsis within the bathroom repeats itself in a rhythmic cycle. The paintings capture moments of fragile connection —— between mother and child, and between the individual and something that transcends them. I perceive the act of painting itself as a form of therapy and introspection, a space in which catharsis takes place —— bringing both relief and insight.
8 works in the series
I hide, you hide, he hides, she hides, we hide, you hide, they hide… In the corner, beneath the table, inside a wardrobe, under a tree, in a hole, beneath a blanket, among the clouds… What is a hiding place? Is it a safe space that protects us from every danger? Or is it a dangerous space that cannot protect us from ourselves? My initial search led me to a tree - more specifically, to the spruce tree we had at home. We used to run beneath it, keep our toys there, and spend hours underneath its branches because it was enormous. Yet there were also strange, even unsettling moments that we did not want anyone to witness. As a result, what had once seemed like a “safe” space became an unpredictable place where we could test one another. A person in hiding carries many emotions, but what fascinated me most was the sense of fragility, instability, and invisibility. It was as though the human body gradually became an object - a porcelain vase resting on a table, perfectly blending into the living room. In the natural environment, however, this very fragility becomes a disadvantage, making discovery all the more likely. I was inspired by Czech folk motifs found on porcelain vases, translating them into fragments of the human body - feet and heads - in the paintings Wanted and The Potential Death of a Leccinum. With each painting I sought to preserve the uncanny atmosphere of the outdoor environment.
3 works in the series
The Bathroom Space 2023 I am in it. Am I drowning beneath it – or above it? They say I am resting. I see railway tracks. Rain keeps falling. Pouring. Is this supposed to be a cleansing? I walk toward the tracks - straight ahead. I have known this place since I hovered above the strawberry patch. Or rather, since my grandmother’s hands held me above the reddening signal lights. I ate them. They tasted good. Like a derailed body - body - mine. The derailed train does not trouble me. I am losing my hair - it falls downward. T u r n i n g around. I want an exit and black words on canvas. Is this the end? A full stop. Right now I’m climbing into the bathtub. I don’t want my skin to get wet, so I unzip it like a coat. It will hang on the hook. Is there a catch? Maybe, in the end, yours will be hanging there too ——.
9 works in the series
First attempt
Were we children? Or are we still? Clumsy movements and childlike behaviour led me to imagine the bathtub as a space of cleansing, one that can nevertheless be disrupted by persistent thoughts from the past. The bathroom becomes an intimate space in which everyday rituals can give rise to existential questions and draw us into a state of emotional vulnerability. I sought to connect this space with childhood - a period of imagination, uncertainty, and growth. Motifs of children’s clothing, toys, and simple, awkward movements therefore emerge throughout the works, gestures that often seem distant and unfamiliar to the adult observer. Gradually, I moved from child figures to the Willow Beings. They sit beside the bathtub with willow branches growing from their bodies. They have human faces and limbs, yet they seem out of place in the bathroom. They come from the outside, but cannot leave. The bathroom becomes a space between cleansing and being trapped. A place meant for purification can instead bring unwanted, melancholic, and even depressive thoughts. For me, this tension is at the heart of catharsis.
7 works in the series
A series of paintings bound by the materialized notion of a bond between bodies, depicted in various relational states on each canvas.
23 works in the series
2023 A bumpy plain that gets under your nails. Before they started collecting, they stood across from each other, scared, waiting to see what would or wouldn’t happen. Their throats tightened, they didn’t greet one another, and instead stared at the ground. The muddy field shifted in the meantime; gloves on sweaty hands made holding the empty buckets uncomfortable. The collectors stood over the furrowed trench, glancing around. They weren’t the only ones whose insides churned at the thought of a family gathering. Other groups gathered at their assigned rows of potatoes, and under the overcast sky, a spiral of fake laughter rose from each corner. Without eye contact, they knew it was time to crouch down, as families competed to fill sacks faster. Mud clung to their fingers, and with every new stab into the soil, they dug into each other as well. “Relax, we’re in the field… here, everything gets buried.”
10 works in the series
A series of paintings in which I repeatedly return to the motif of flowers. The individual works capture their diversity, structure, and changing nature.
18 works in the series
Studies of figures in motion, focusing on gesture, dynamics, and the capture of a moment.
22 works in the series
The paintings show associations and memories in which landscape, water, and the bathroom gradually connect and lose their clear boundaries. The series explores feelings of forgetting, returning to the past, and uncertainty between what we really see and what we remember.
2 works in the series
