Art Stories
Seeing the world through a child's eyes
Ivana Štenclová in front of the Minimax portrait made of countless small plywood pieces.
On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, the Happy Hearts Foundation held an online auction, featuring works by prominent Czech artists. The unifying element of the entire collection is the theme of childhood, hope and love.
The large portrait relief made of plywood parts with numerous small ornaments was created by Ivana Štenclová. “The child’s face is made up of cartoon characters. The things they often watch to some extent shape their perception of basic principles and values.” Ornament, which is a frequent motif in her work, has not only a decorative function, but carries content. The backbone of Ivana’s art is interpersonal, exploring mainly family relationships.
Petr Gruber and the landscape painting Wet Grass.
Petr Gruber is fascinated by landscape. He paints moments on the border between day and night, when the space becomes silent. The oil painting Mokrá tráva (Wet Grass) humbly but very suggestively captures the moment of returning from an evening walk, when the sky beyond the horizon is still warm with the setting sun and the foreground is already slowly sinking into colder colours. “Currently, I revisit memories from my childhood. In this period one experiences everything, as it were. It’s such a short time in one’s life.”
Jakub Tytykalo with painting The Hand
The auction also features a painting by Jakub Tytykalo. “Parenthood is imprinted in my works, sometimes visibly and sometimes subconsciously. Learning about the world through a child’s eyes is a unique experience that invites exploration of unexpected contexts. This can be a source of entertainment, but also a reflection on the limits of rational perception of the world.” It is the oscillation between the conscious and the surreal that typifies Jakub’s work. Ruka (Hand) is a representation of a magician’s hand, but it can also be perceived as the imprint of a human palm turning into a dove hovering in timelessness.
Kristýna Šarochová and her tufting carpet Connection.
In recent years, carpet making has made its way to the limelight for artists and collectors alike. “Working with wool allows me to interrupt the process at any time and spend time with my children, since my brushes don’t dry out,” laughs the artist. In Spojení (Connection), a pregnant woman meets a dog and together they engage in a silent dialogue without words. In this way, she imaginatively returns to the historical legacy and archetype of the woman as caregiver and home-maker.
Anna Jožová working on a vase from the Lollipop series.
Anna Jožová studied in the studio of Rony Plesl. She likes to combine disparate materials and often reflects the impact of human intervention on the environment in her objects. Her lollipop vase, made of thick blown glass, also shows a sense of humour. “It is a kind of ode to the happy nostalgia of childhood and a humorous reaction to the financially and especially time-consuming technique of Murano glass processing.”
We introduced five more artists in our previous post. You can bid on the Happy Hearts website.