ADÉLA VALCHAŘOVÁ

Welcome to Velveton

Painting Studio 1

What is “Velveton” in the name of your project? What did your graduate work focus on?
The individual paintings comprise fragments of a fictitious town that I have called Velveton. Velvet is a material that evokes softness and smoothness, which I wanted to reflect in the technical execution of the painting. From the very outset, I sought to depict a soft, visually calming surface without any expressive strokes. I wanted it to feel smooth and pleasant. Velveton also invokes something constructed, almost artificial, which has to do with the character of the depicted motifs. These are built on direct geometrical lines that give the individual features an architectural, structured feel. I try to evoke feelings of solitude and emptiness, but without any sense of discomfort.

Does your abstract painting find inspiration in the real world?
Yes, I find nature very inspiring. The paintings feature animal motifs, for example birds or cows, as well as landscape features such as a tree, the Moon, an empty steppe or a wall of ice.

The paintings are smooth and geometrical. They exude tranquility. Was this tranquility always part of your work or did you have to find your own path to it?
The sense of tranquility has to do with the geometric features I use, and I developed these gradually. It was a journey for me – I had to lose the sense of business that I often struggle with. It comes at me both from the outside world as well as from my own thinking. The paintings thus show a paradox in which I render organic, biological motifs into structured forms. Geometry thus allows me to create my own sense of order, and reducing things to simple surfaces creates the sense of tranquility I have mentioned.

photo: Polina Davydenko