Artist Statement
My paper constructions are explorations into a theme of natural and manmade disasters I have been exploring for the last several years. They represent a collision between nature and people. The work raises questions about longevity, the consequences of human behavior, and differences in cultural or national attitudes. This theme emerged from my own personal anxieties as well as the world events.
Even though carnage from a natural disaster or war is disturbing and damaging, brute force and brutality can be intoxicating and seductive. With my objects, I contrast finely crafted and strangely beautiful images against harsh repulsion to draw attention to the beauty of violence. I am interested in the conflict of conscience and the consequences that result. I translate these images into more abstract objects with prickly textures and complex structures that often mimic organic materials and formations found in nature. My sculptures are constructed from various paper parts sometimes resembling architectural elements. Every part is painstakingly hand made and assembled into larger installation. I like working with paper for its fragility and accessibility. It is a common material with a long history that can be manipulated in many different ways. I am interested in assembling and breaking down structures creating scenes and objects bristling with tension somewhere between beautiful and dangerous.
Biography
Lenka Konopasek is a Czech born painter and mixed media artist. Her work focuses on natural and manmade disasters. It raises questions about longevity, the consequences of human behavior, and differences in cultural or national attitudes. Konopasek received BFA from University of Utah and MFA from Maine College of Art. She has exhibited widely throughout United States, Taiwan, Germany, India and Czech Republic. Her work has been featured in the New American Painting, Studio Visit Magazine and in other publications. She also completed several large public art projects in Utah. Konopasek currently teaches studio art at the University of Utah and Westminster College.
CV
Lenka Konopasek’s CV