Interview
Helena Sumbalová
Helena was born in former socialist Czechoslovakia in the 1950s. Her father did not agree with the communist ideology and practices and therefore had to leave a promising job in the state administration and become a worker. It greatly affected the possibilities of Helena’s creative development.
Despite the unfavorable circumstances, Helena finished her studies at the Comenius University in Bratislava in a different field. After graduating, she worked as a translator and later as a financial consultant, but she never stopped longing for artistic self-realization. She finally succeeded in realizing her dream after her children stood on their own two feet.
Since 2015, Helena has had five solo exhibitions. Every year she participates in common exhibitions with the Association of Artists of Slovakia. She participated several times in common contest exhibitions in Italy with Artem Gallery.
What is your background and how did you start your journey?
“When I got married, I had five children to whom I devoted all my time and creativity. I certainly don't consider it a waste of time; rather the opposite. The relationships with my husband and children enriched me with a new depth and dimensions that I wouldn’t have known otherwise, and from which I draw inspiration till now.
In the beginning, I drew and painted just for myself, for the fun of creation. I didn’t care much to show my works. After meeting some professional artists who were delighted by my works, I was encouraged to exhibit.
I had my first solo exhibition in 2015 in Bratislava, and I was accepted to the Artem Gallery, and to the Association of Artists of Slovakia. Besides solo exhibitions, I regularly participate in common exhibitions both in Slovakia and abroad.”
What inspires you most?
“I’m inspired by life—both outer and inner life. Outer life includes nature, people, city, landscape, sky and smell, while inner life involves the life of a soul, relationship between man and woman, faith, hopes, dreams, and music.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“I paint and draw because I have to let it out, regardless of what comes out of it or what message someone attributes to it. I’m happy when my work appeals to someone and they find in it an important meaning for them. Or even if they simply like the piece because of it colors, structure, or expression.”
“In the words of the curator of my last exhibition, Maria Horváthová:
‘Even though the painter, Helena Sumbalová is firmly grounded in reality with her work and philosophy, she sometimes cannot resist the temptation of non-figurative expression...
Her coloristically bright and spontaneous expression has figurative origins and tends towards poetic-lyrical work.’”
How would you describe your work?
“I consider my work very varied. In the beginning, I loved to draw and paint faces and figures. I then went through a period of different landscapes, but landscapes that appeared only in my mind and were completely invented, such as the Land of Gentle Adversities.
Then I went through a longer period when the pictures were painted as if by themselves, and I just added a few final strokes and the overall tone.
Recently, abstract painting has appealed to me the most.
I have no stable preferred style. I work according to my mood and the type of colors or material I’m using.”
Which artists influence you most?
“When I was young, I admired Picasso, Chagall, Vincent van Gogh, Miró, Kandinsky, the Impressionists and the Surrealists. I also was inspired by many of our Slovak painters such as Ľudovít Fulla and Vladimír Kompánek.
Nowadays, I’ve added to them many abstract artists, both foreign as well as Slovak.”
What is your creative process like?
“Again, I’ll use the words of the curator Mária Horváthová: ‘She (Helena Sumbalová) primarily uses the advantages of acrylic painting, using a special rolling technique to create different structures and patterns that form the background of her motifs. These are diverse and range from wide panoramas of rural and mountain landscapes, through urban architecture to figurative motifs and portraits and, of course, to abstract compositions evoking the idea of musical chords or colorful eruptions. She composes some unconventional and impressive still life pieces, in which the degree of imagination and color fragility evoke a feeling of melancholy and sadness.’
I will add my own words and say that there were times when I painted obsessively from early morning, in a nightgown, without breakfast and without food. But that was when I had more time, as my mother didn’t require so much care, and I had only one grandchild. I’d get lost in my painting until I came to my senses sometime in the early evening. At that time, I painted several paintings a day. But there are also periods when I can’t paint, not only because of lack of time and space, but also because of some incomprehensible inner inhibitions.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“The artist’s role in society should be to bring more beauty, more light, and more inspiration to other people. Sometimes I doubt whether many of the contemporary art fulfills this role.
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I had several solo exhibitions in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. My works were presented in common exhibitions in Slovakia, Czech republic and Italy.”
