Artist Statement
World Cultures are a source of interest and intrigue for me. I grew up surrounded by folk art traditions from Slovakia, admiring the richness of the patterns and colors that reflect the vitality of the people. Over the years, I have been amazed by the general similarities in customs, which permeate the rituals, ceremonies and basic patterns of the daily life of people around the globe. These events are often reflected or stylized in miniatures, ceramics, sculptures, musical instruments, frescoes, and textiles, even in toys - all traces of people and their way of life.

This series of paintings, which I call CONNECTIONS, was influenced by images that captivated me while on a family vacation to China. The statues, vessels, lacquerware, and architectural wonders from the early Ch'in, Han and T'ang dynasties have been a source of wonder and inspiration for me as an artist. In the two years that I have been developing this work, I have stayed immersed in those images and they have taken on a contemporary immediacy for me. I have tried to animate these paintings with a "stroke energy" which is part of my painterly hand, and is also a connection to the energy that is apparent in the works left behind by these civilizations.