Eva Lapka

Statement

A ceramic artist, residing in Montreal, but born in the Czech Republic, Eva Lapka holds a diploma in sculpture and ceramics design from the Brno School of Fine Arts. She is now director of the ceramics department at Montreal Visual Art Center where she has taught since 1991. Since 1979, she has participated in many exhibitions around the world. She also has coordinated cultural exchanges between Czech and Canadian artist. She was awarded several prizes for her works which are part of prestigious Collections.

Mrs. Hedwidge Asselin, art critic, has this to say of “Whispers”:
“Walls and Whispers is composed of photos of old walls in Prague, walls filled with history, and of heads emerging from these walls, heads turned towards each other, whispering, whispering. One is immediately made aware that this artist spent both her childhood and adolescence within the confines of communism, an era in which has ears, and fears of denunciation made silence imperative.”

(Born in Montreal, HEDWIDGE ASSELIN has taught philosophy and art history in various colleges and universities in Quebec. For more than thirty years she has been a member of the "International Association of Art Critics” and was the treasurer of its Canadian Section for over ten years. She is an independent curator and writes as an art critic for art magazines. She holds a Ph D in philosophy from the University of Montreal, with a thesis related to the semiotics of art.)

Eva Lapka – Artist statement I have always imagined the creative process to be a series of interrelated impacts, emotions, doubts and certainties. I try to avoid any narration, and restrict it as much as possible. In the practice of my craft, I feel as though I journey between light and darkness. Every step of my creative process involves adding or removing light and shadow, thus encouraging dialogue between my work and the viewer, helping to draw them closer together. My pieces encompass elements of time, space, density, and memory, as well as openings to allow for breathing room. Sometimes, when a cry remains unheard, I wish to give silence wings; at other times, I leave things intact and this is simply enough. My work reflects my conscious participation in life and serves as its mirror, covered with a velvet curtain. The reflection is thus obscured and leaves room for personal interpretation.

Interview