Collection

This painting is an emotional self-portrait, typical of the artist. The title Domna (Homeful) is an antonym of the word homeless. The common root of the word highlights the contrast between their meanings.
Domna is a painting—but also a wish. That settling down would ward off the artist’s constant feeling of being homeless in the world. The figure in the painting holds her hands over her head in the shape of a roof, however the gesture could also be interpreted as begging, or praying. This is a symbolic home, that the artist built for herself with difficulty. Safety and security are not only physically, but also psychically, necessary.
As is characteristic of Czech’s paintings, the background is simplified, painted flat like in a child’s drawing, a common motif of which is the family home. However the figure in Domna is completely alone, embodying the artist’s desire to live in the wilderness, far from people, surrounded by farmland. But this is no idyll. In Czech’s world, life is full of uncertainty and the struggle for existence. Moments of apparent stability are illusory and only strengthen the desire to take root.

Painter. Graduate of the School of Fine Arts in Krakow and workshop of Prof. Andrzej Tobis. In her expressionist painting she deals with toxic relations between people as well as violence against animals. Her work often draws on her own personal experiences. She depicts them in a blunt, often even brutal manner—formally as well as thematically. Her work is strongly driven by extreme emotions—love, hate, nostalgia, regret, and suffering. She was the 2015 winner of the 42nd Painting Biennale of Bielska Jesień. She lives and works in Katowice.