Lida Penkova
For Summer 2019, we're featuring the works of prolific local artist, Lida Penkova.
Free posters of select pieces will be available starting July 11th.
Lida Penkova was born and raised in Czechoslovakia, now the Czech republic. When her country was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union military in 1968, she emigrated to England. She studied history of art in London, and later on psychology in Germany. She traveled to Mexico as a university researcher in the early eighties, fell in love with the country and lived there over 16 years. She and her small family moved to California in the late nineties where she began to paint.
“Through textures and colors, my artwork is dedicated to creating magical spaces and telling stories. I’m inspired by artists and artisans of indigenous cultures, like aboriginal artists of Australia, the Inuit people, Mexican bark painters, ancient India miniature painters and many other folk artists. My travels, and especially life in Mexico, had an important influence on my aesthetics and work. The artistically complex and symbol-rich culture of Mexico became the base for my artistic expression. Popular festivals, traditional folk celebrations, religious ceremonies, and pre-Hispanic customs go hand-in-hand with everyday life. A neighbor’s story could have been told hundreds of years ago. Myth, fantasy and everyday reality are often inseparable, just as it is in my artwork”.
Lida makes hand colored and black and white linocuts, and also paints on canvas while occasionally incorporating fabrics. Her artwork can be found in private collections in Europe, Latin America and Asia.
