Welcome You to My First Independent Exhibition

My name is Darina Berková (maiden name Dobrovodská). I was born in Bratislava where I live j2_200.jpg (3841 bytes)with my husband and two children. I have chosen for my exhibition 29 pictures with different themes painted from January ‘86 to December ‘97. Most of my exhibits are created by combined technique of dry and moisture pastel, some of my pictures are done by pencil, and some only by moisture pastel. This combined technique fits me very well because of the wide variety of possibilities. I can express total tenderness and almost transparency, but also full colour and dynamics.Themes of my pictures are different. One of them is the appreciation of a woman as a combination of strength, tenderness, vulnerability and harmony. Sometimes it is also self-expression. I quite often like to make a tree, the symbol of power, it grows ..., it develops itself, acquires experience, it is bent by wind, rain, and freeze, but it continues to grow. Another theme is the appreciation of a human being and all his creations. I admire the philosophy of ancient Greeks, their effort to achieve the harmony between the soul and body ("Greece Appreciation", "A Prayer - Gothic Churches"). In the sametime I am posing questions through symbols: "stairs - where are we going? ...". Gradually I evolved to themes "A Pilgrim Lady", "A Prayer" and "You do not Enter the Church if the Church is not inside You". This picture came into existence spontaneously after reading The Prophet by Chalil Gibran. The last five pictures are more poetic then philosophical. They are "The Four Seasons" , "The River" and "Music".

I believe that people subconsciously look for the ways to other people, either by words, pictures, or music (picture "Spring"). Therefore let your feeling dive into my pictures, symbols, colours, and structures, and I believe that each of you can carry out a small piece of human warmth inside you.

 

Bratislava 4.12.97