Amb. and Mrs. Bella of Slovakia host party for Artist Jamborova

There were numbers of our encounters during which you had opportunity to meet here in Korea Slovak music, Slovak dance, Slovak theatre, Slovak folk art, Slovak photos, Slovak films and I could go on and on.

This evening I would like to introduce my country Slovakia as a land of colours how, it has been seen, perceived, felt and painted by Slovak artist - pastel-painter Mrs. Jana Jamborova.

Taking advantage of presence of Mrs. Jamborova at Culture & Art Festival in Mosan Artistic Museum in Boryeong, I am very glad that she could join us in person for today’s opening of her paintings exhibition.

Mrs. Jamborova started to profile herself in painting already during her university studies at the Pedagogic Faculty in Banska Bystrica, where one of her majors was art. During her practices, she spent time in the countryside, perfecting her use of colour.

Later, in the nineties, she joined her husband in making jewellery and selling her designs. Her main inspiration has its roots in the Great Moravian traditions. She attempted and mastered ancient techniques such as granulation with great success. They both endeavoured and succeeded in elevating the craft of jewellery design. Their jewellery is complex and one of one of a kind and their contemporary designs have prospered not just in Slovakia, but also in foreign countries. They have participated in numerous exhibitions not only in Slovakia, but their jewellery masterworks were exhibited and admired also in Budapest, Paris and at World Master Festival of Culture and Art in Yeosu in 2010. Her achievement and contribution to the artistic development of jewellery craft was already recognized in 2010 by awarding her the certificate World Master in Arts.

In the last years she devoted herself more and more to pastel painting. Her artwork is inspired mainly by landscape of the Turiec region, which is surrounded by year round beauty. Fineness, elegance, an open space in contrast with large landscape and detail are guarantee of her perfect drawing created heartily in one breath.

Dry pastels are a medium like chalks and therefore the work with them is considered as a transition between drawing and oil painting. Dry pastels provide a very broad range of artistic expression from the fine rubbed areas to the significantly full colour lines and strokes. The combination of natural elements with pigments ensures high quality and light resistance, which safeguards the durability of artwork.

One of the biggest allures of pastel, as a fine art medium, is its tactile nature. Painters who are using pastel get to hold moulded dry pigment directly in their hands. While consistency, form and surface play major roles in painting with pastel, it is their interaction with one’s artistic personality that creates the final tactile experience. As you can see on these 12 pastel paintings, Mrs. Jamborova’s gently pastel strokes produce ethereal transitions of application, which manifest the tactile relationship between pastel and painter.

Mrs. Jamborova’s art has its foundations in nature where she is continually inspired. No wonder, that her pastel painting gained recognition also at the 10th International Gyeonggi Ansan Art Fair held this year in Ansan.

I am personally very pleased, that now we can enjoy her pastel paintings exhibition called “Slovakia - land of colours” directly here in Seoul in an intimate environment of the Slovak Embassy. k