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STUDIO VISIT #7 | L. J. SKŘIVÁNKOVÁ
Friends, art, inspiration. The seventh Studio Visit, a project of meeting the artist in her studio, took place in Lucie Jindrák Skřivánková´s new space. Pigmentarium has been helping with the studio creation since the beginning, and unexpected artistic collaborations have arisen from this platform more than once. We wanted to convey a certain personal dimension of this intimate meeting also to you, and that is why we asked one of the organizers, art curator Nikola Nováková, to make, during the event preparation, a short interview with Lucie. While reading it, we recommend a glass of Monkey 47 gin with it. Gin is an integral part of Pigmentarium events and was also served during this evening. Studio Visit #7 took place on the evening of October 13 in Prague, in New World.
Lucie Jindrák Skřivánková
Lucie Jindrák Skřivánková graduated from The Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (2009), mentored by M. Rittstein. Lucie's work is recognizable mainly due to its specific colour, structure, and plasticity. Painting is usually positive, dynamic, and fluid. "The stroke dynamically changes in its trajectory, gains strength and then regains its composure. It is just like me," she explains. An important mediator of the aesthetic experience of her paintings is colour – its rough structures and pasty deposits. Her main motif is harmony of landscape, sky, and nature. Shifting lines and abstract forms are driven by energy in their own universe. She likes to work on hand-sepped coarse cotton canvas with acrylic paints that have a high pigment content and with paste plasters that are permanent and pigment-stable. "Each crisis is an important moment, the point of searching for myself brings inner authenticity and specific reflection in creation."
AN INTERVIEW BY NIKOLA NOVÁKOVÁ
A year has passed, and I am sitting with Lucie again due to the preparation of another studio visit. The last one to happen, but it also happened at your place. It was when you just said goodbye to your Vinohrady studio and with that goodbye one era ended. How important is the creative space for you?
It is important. It is the place that naturally impacts the mood of painting. It also impacts how long I can stay in my studio to work. My current studio is probably the most beautiful one, in the most beautiful place, mostly because of where it is placed - New World in Prague is a hidden world in its own city. The studio has on top of that, exciting history - it used to belong to a famous sculpturist, Josef Nálepa. Thanks to him, the studio was visited by Dálí, who had himself portrayed by Nálepa. It is surrounded by its own mystery from those days its original owner and sculpturist worked there. ….
As part of the concept of our events, we try to give space also to private event. The last one was on the launch of a new magazine published by Svoboda & Williams. Then you created an image that was on the cover of the magazine specifically for this occasion. What I enjoy about my work is connecting different subjects and thus also the possibility of newly formed collaborations. Since you have moved to a new place and your studio is in a magical and people-forgotten place in Prague's New World, we decided to repeat the event and organize another studio visit. How did you end up here?
After I had to move out of the Vinohrady villa, which I loved very much, I couldn't find anything for the next six months, no matter how hard I tried. It has never happened to me before, it was new and unknown, and challenging because I couldn't create. From the initial stress, I then tried to fill up my free time differently. I went to Kenya to do yoga, I travelled to Sweden, I was looking for new inspiration and peace. After the last, challenging year, it was nice to stop for a while and just exist. But then I missed work and there were more and more orders.... I searched and searched, but as you probably know, there are relatively few exceptional studios in Prague. My beloved husband eventually found the studio for me through a close friend.
Pigmentarium perfumes were with us at our first project. Cooperation turned into friendship. And they, with their uniqueness and sense of non-traditional and artistic experience, left their mark on our events. It is no coincidence that this particular event also brings a new product into the world...
I have liked Pigmentarium for a long time, especially their fragrance sticks, which I have fond memories of. When I was approached to create a limited edition, I was very happy. It happened when I was working on black and gold paintings. When I learned that the new product, called Prague Olibanum, is supposed to resemble the smell of old Prague, I chose a black matte texture for the decor, so the boxes are pleasantly haptic and the gold sparkles in it, like fire sparkles in the dark. I am glad that this collaboration is coming to light, precisely in my new studio in Prague's New world. It all comes together as nicely as it should.
When you look back... What did this year give and take?
This year was very demanding and hectic. It was also very full and fulfilling, one dream coming true after another. I tried an old technique: linseed oil, egg, and pigment - and it was amazing for me to discover the properties of these natural materials. I am happy about the exhibition at the GaP gallery in Znojmo, I am happy about the special ECO Mural in Sweden I joined NFT and together with my husband, we created a 3D object. My motif was, alongside with other artist work, hanging on a 2 m flag in Brussels during the Czech EU Presidency. And I won a beautiful contract for the Alcrone hotel, which I am currently working on. Our designer group MPKJVLJS was also successful, with our "masterpiece" Kabinet Kuriozit, which we have sent directly to Hollywood already several times. In addition to new experiences, I also gained beautiful new friendships.
If you had to describe your current attitude towards art in one word, what would you say?
Experiment
Lucie, thank you!
