This new collection of watercolor paintings focuses on the wondrous world of plants, though not as an idyllic portrayal of nature. Here, plants have a dual nature—they are beautiful and alluring, yet at the same time pragmatic and uncompromising. The artist’s work masterfully intertwines organic plant forms with the landscape of the human body, inviting reflection on the mirroring and deep connection between humans and nature.
A defining feature of Pavla Gajdošíková’s current practice is the delicate balance between painting and drawing. Transparent layers of watercolor merge with a fine, precise line that guides the viewer’s attention toward fields of color, through which it grows and which it accentuates. A moment emerges in which the boundaries between the concrete and the abstract dissolve. Experimentation is essential to the artist, as is the extended time span over which the watercolors are created through gradual layering.
This principle also extends into space through subtle porcelain objects that expand the painterly gesture into three-dimensional form. These objects appear as fragments of an unknown organism. They may be perceived as physical imprints of plants or as abstract objects of organic shapes. Color then emphasizes the sense of allure characteristic of this vegetal world.
The exhibition raises questions about the relationship between humans and nature and their emotional experience, approached through a sensitive observation of natural forms and their remarkable processes. As the artist states: “One aspect of this relationship is love in its broadest sense—as a creative and caring force. I depict the female body of nature, which is soft and fertile.” To express this, the artist employs a symbolic language that reveals the interconnectedness and reciprocity of ecosystems.
The exhibition “Mistress of Deceptions” is an invitation to attentive looking—to uncover subtle traps that are not set against us, but rather for us: to slow us down and open space for new ways of perceiving the interconnectedness between humans and nature.
text by Zdenka Rocha, Malá Galerie, Sladovna, Písek, 2026
