After six years studying at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, and residencies in Jerusalem, Tallinn, and Munich, Eva Pelechová settled down in Prague. She opened her workshop ten years ago, where she experiments with casting different ceramic materials including shamot, diturvit, terracotta, and porcelain, as well as multiple firings at different temperatures and building moulds. The objects she makes are assembled from cut or somehow destroyed elements, where the surface and inner structure are an integrated part of her visual expression. Sometimes she reuses leftovers, such as old vessels or found moulds. She participated in six dozen exhibitions inside of Czechia and abroad and she was part of many foreign residencies and symposia. She is a member of the AIC (International Academy of Ceramics), and Homo Faber Michelangelo Foundation. Her works are in public and private collections not only in Europe but also in China, Azerbaijan, and Taiwan and she gained multiple international awards.
When we look at your works, what do we see?
Actually, I don't know. I believe each of my works consists of the spoken and the unspoken. I want to expose the unspoken to the viewer's imagination. The visual vocabulary of the observer shapes the meaning of it.
Your work seeks to express personal and collective memory – how?
My creation process is connected to visual memory, the remembrance of smell, or a tactile experience. How we remember and present history is modified by how we want it to be seen in the future. The viscous consistency of my materials is similar, allowing me to create a future memory of me, you, and us.
What is your driving force?
The urge to communicate better. By improving my specific language I’m able to understand more, be a better audience, a better tutor, and a better creator. I believe that deeply mastering your subject improves communication within that field and may help you to understand other fields.
Why do you like to participate in symposiums?
It is a kind of theatre show; you experiment in the solitude of your studio and then there comes a live performance – a symposium or residency. You can compare your work with the outcomes of others and be part of the creative process of your colleagues.