1983 Emigrated to the United States of America
1988 Became US citizen
1988 BA, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio
1991 Moved to New York City
1996 Art Student League, New York, NY
2000
1995
1988
Group Exhibitions:
2000
Class of Eugene Brodsky, The Art Students League, New York, NY
1999
Annual Holiday Exhibit and Sale, The Art Students League, New York, NY
Exposition Photographique Contemporaine d'Europe, Taipei Jazz Photo Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1998
1997
1995
Le Voyage, L'ete de La Photo, Laon, France
Ivana Vavakova and Joaquin Colume, PSL Galerie fur Fotografie, Berlin, Germany
Joy and Hope in the Troubled World, Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs, New York, NY
Breaking with Tradition, Jansen-Perez, Inc., Contemporary Art Off Broadway, San Antonio, TX
Cross-Sections, College of New Rochelle, Gordon Parks Gallery, Bronx, NY
1994
A New Agenda for Human Development, United Nations, Traveling exhibit; New York, Copenhagen and Beijing
Les Recontres d'Arles '94, Photogalerie Bild, Aarau, Switzerland
Real and Beyond, Agora Gallery, New York, NY
Intimate Portraits, Duggal Downtown, New York, NY
1993
Small/Large Works, Limner Gallery, New York, NY
International Salon '93, Ward-Nasse Gallery, New York, NY
1991
Group Show, The Emerging Collector, New York, NY
1990-91
1990
1988
of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Reviews:
1999/Sep
Ivana Vavakova, Kuo-Chang Chi, Photodom, Taipei, Taiwan
1999/Sep
Ivana Vavakova, Josef Moucha, People's Newspaper, Prague, Czech Republic
1996/Feb
Ivana Vavakova/Fotografie, Josef Moucha, Audio Video Revue, Prague, Czech Republic
1995/Jan
Portfolio Review, Josef Moucha, Revue Fotografie, Prague, Czech Republic
1995/Mar
Ivana Vavakova Coloration, Kuo-Chang Chi, Photodom, Taipei, Taiwan
1995/Jan
Artists Stray from Tradition, Dan R. Goddard, San Antonio Express News, NM
1994/Mar
Mysticism at Agora Gallery, Randi Hoffman, Art Speak, New York, NY
Memberships:
Studio Montclair, Upper Montclair, NJ
Residency:
2000/Jun Banff, Canada
Sometimes I do preliminary sketches but I never rigidly plan the outcome. I paint with oil sticks and oils on wood panels with built up surfaces of sand, pumice or wax. I like wood panels because I can add and subtract from them. Paintings range from flat to relief like. My technique is unfussy and direct. My fingers and sharp objects such as push pins and nails are my brushes. Primal technique expresses primal experience. In fact, crudity helps me to intensify the impact of my work. I am attempting to make idea (content) and technique (form) inseparable. Scraping into the thick layers of paint is perhaps a metaphor for delving into my own personal history.
In the past I staged black and white photographs which I enhanced with oil paints. Photography taught me light and composition. I like to force the subject to the edge and maximize the image area. Compressed space makes the subject more immediate and direct.
I don't attempt to make my paintings understandable. I create mysterious narratives with multiple layers of interpretation. Dreams, memories and observation of the human force is my inspiration. I find it gratifying when others read unforeseen meaning into my work.
