Database

Klára Bočkayová

Born May 27 1948, Martin
Lived in Stupava

Klára Bočkayová came on the art scene in the early 1970s as an artist with a strong interest in painting and drawing. In 1974, she began to work with subjects typical for rural and urban households of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. She works with the principles of citation and the interpretation of mundane folks topics. Bočkayová uses frottage effects enriched with colourist and dynamic aspects. She utilises items such as tablecloths, blankets and embroidery as an underlay for frottage rubbings, which become ironic commentary on the position of women in society. She applies the method of frottage not only on paper, but also in an innovative way on canvas and finely woven white cloth. She creates the technique of so-called phased frottage (Ludvík Kundera), in which, in addition to an ornamental motif, she also captures the movement arising from the shifting underlying medium.
(Štěpánka Bieleszová)

drawing, painting, textile

1976

Depozit (solo exhibition, Bratislava)

1978

Hommage à L. Fontana (mixed media)

Juicy morning (painting)

Look, the day is pink (mixed media)

1979

Golden rain (graphics)

Untitled (graphics)

1980

Trojhodinová výstava (solo exhibition, Stupava)

1981

Due to her previous problems with State Security, Klára exhibits under the name Omiliaková at other shows, e.g., an exhibition at the Veterinary Research Institute in Brno (1981) and at the Youth Gallery (1982). The latter is based on a catalogue with text by Jiří Valoch, but it is signed by Eliška Lysková. Ludvík Kundera contributes the poem “Suddenly Again” to the catalogue. A year later, Klára for the first time takes part in the nationwide exhibition of drawings at the Považská Gallery of Art in Žilina directed by Dana Doricová. This is a unique opportunity to exhibit without the risk of having some works removed. Following the death of her mother, Klára returns for a short period of time to Dolný Kubín. She uses the wooden floor in her family home as the base for the frottage in the works Každodenní hra I. II. III. [Mundane Game I, II, III]. The house is demolished a year later to make way for a department store. In 1984, Jiří Valoch arranges an exhibition in Prague in Karlova Street for the Bočkays and Igor Kalný. Klára exhibits frottage on paper, e.g., Vykúkanie [Peeping Out]