Lucie Svoboda
“Painting is my nourishment and passion; it supplies me with energy and guides my meditations. At times, it is also my inner conflict, sending me out into the unknown. Painting is purely an intuitive way of expressing myself, my energy, and my deepest thoughts and emotions. It is never planned or restricted, it is freedom!”
I was born in 1972 in Liberec, Czech Republic. I have loved to paint and draw since early childhood, and then I got the fantastic opportunity to study at a Glass-making Art School in Železný Brod.
I see my work as a journey. A summation of knowledge from my childhood, events that life has brought me, and every day, sometimes seemingly banal experiences.
These impulses from my childhood were, for example, the big round mirror next to my bed, which from my point of view, sucked me in like a black hole in space and sent me on journeys through cosmic landscapes.
My eye defect led me to a clinic for a few months where, as part of my treatment, it became my own to poke out rhythmic pictures with a needle, dot by dot, every day. You would find this phenomenon mostly in my earlier work.
Circles and dots are one of the distinctive geometric shapes in my paintings: the universe and imaginary worlds. But I also loved depicting butterflies or bugs and insects in my childhood.
A professor in elementary school directed me to art school for glass, which was an absolutely fantastic choice. There, I got training in realistic drawing and the perception of space, and there, I also discovered the magic of glass. I didn't stay with glass, but I feel it got under my skin indelibly.
In my paintings, I need to express depth, transparency, and the play of light; I am very attracted to that.
I consider each of my paintings a kind of DNA carrier, whether from a visual or emotional stimulus. Each of my paintings has its beginning, its sperm and egg :-).
I find my well of inspiration mainly in nature, but emotional - -thought impulses are also a significant source. In my head, or rather my subconscious, I perceive something like a databank of stories, which keeps transmitting.
I paint when I fall asleep and when I get up; it's a constant connection.
I haven't been painting all my life. After graduating from glass school, my travels took me into the tourism industry. For almost 20 years, I worked for an Italian investor who built historic residences - hotels - in the center of Prague.
In 2006, a fateful moment came into my life that clouded my emotions and mental health. I was looking for salvation. I had two small children at that time, and it was at that time that creativity came into play. And after years, I picked up a paintbrush and started to create.
In 2016, I left the so-called certainties behind and threw myself headlong into just paintings. Since then, to my satisfaction, my paintings have found their owners, collectors, and galleries all over the world.
Exhibitions:
2023 Galerie Toyen, Prague, Czech Republic “4 GIRLS”
2023 Steiner Gallery, Wien, Austria
2023 Port Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
2023 Twinart Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
2022 Artist Experience, Madrid, Spain
2022 Art3f, Mulhouse, France
2022 Art Prague
2022 Port Gallery Barcelona, Spain
2021 Art Prague
2021 Laufen Gallery Prague solo exhibition
2020 Art Prague 2019 Leipzig Art Fair – Vang Gogh Art Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2019 Art Prague
2019 Paris Art Fair – Vang Gogh Art Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2019 Affordable Arf Fair, London – Emotions of the World Gallery, Milan, Italy
2018 ALLfest – Litomerice
2017 Vnitroblock – Prague
2017 Spring “ART MIX” with topic “Love”, Bratislava
2017 Art of 21st century without a judgment, Prague
2016 ALLfest – Litomerice
2015 Trevisan International Art Little Treasure – Treviso, Italy
2014 Untitled Artists Fair – London, Great Britain
2013 Chianciano Biennale – Chianciano, Italy
Magazines:
2019 ELLE DECOR UK
2014 Rivierart
2014 Arttourinternational
Studies:
1986 – 1990 The High School of Applied Arts for Glassmaking in Železný Brod, The Czech Republic Specialization in the glass jewelry – Prof. Zdeňka Laštovičková
Previous Career:
1997 – 2016 Alchymist Luxury Group, hotel manager, Prague, Czech Republic