[CORRECTED: The date of the anniversary party has been corrected to read Friday, Oct. 14.]
Lesbian artist Marketa Sivek knows what it feels like to not have anyone support her. Sivek grew up in Czechoslovakia while it was a communist country, and remembers the fear people around her felt and how it translated into a lack of support.
"The way I grew up, no one was really there with a helping hand because everybody was for themselves," Sivek recalled. "And if you don't have good support at home, then there's really not much else outside of it. "
This feeling is part of Sivek's motivation to donate one of her works to be auctioned off at Lawrence Hall's Fall Fete, held Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Zhou B Art Center. Lawrence Hall's history of youth and community support speak to Sivek deeply.
"Hope is what keeps us going forward," the artist said. "There are times we all need to reach for a lifeline or at least know the lifeline is there when we need it. Let's try to make this lifeline available to those who need it most."
The painting she's donating follows Sivek's pattern of focusing on a particular subject, in this case, a house. Viewers often remark on the isolation of Sivek's houses, which she says can be interpreted in a variety of ways, though she finds the houses themselves comforting.
"Art speaks to most of us in some way. Sometimes we are not even aware of it," Sivek said. "We all have different experiences, background, childhood, and capacity to understand and take things in. Based on that, we relate to things differently. For some the image of a house on the cliff is comforting, in others it triggers discomfort. I am sure the two viewers have very different life experiences."
Sivek's background influences much of her work. She started out focusing on archival studies, but painting always held her curiosity despite an environment seemingly designed to discourage her.
"I hadn't had much support at home, and an authoritarian regime didn't encourage individuality," Sivek said. "Things had to be done by the book there, so the prospects of being an artist meant pretty much to become a person who would be catering to the regime by making social-realism related mosaics for memorials and shopping centers."
Both a lack of societal support and her own lack of self esteem could have halted Sivek's desires, but somehow she found herself committing to art at the age of 18, a choice that would be permanent in Czechoslovakia's communist society. Ultimately, Sivek did not stay in Czechoslovakia, moving to Chicago at the age of 22, but she stayed an artist.
"Looking back at it, it's scary. Whatever you chose to do at that age, you were stuck with forever," Sivek said. "To make that decision, we often need time to mature into it. The way I grew up, once you had a job, there was no way of changing it. People didn't change their jobs. People kept to themselves. They didn't wear clothes that stood out, and didn't congregate. They were careful of what they said out loud. They looked over their shoulders. In that environment it is extremely hard to create yourself and think of your future."
Sivek describes herself as self-taught. She said she remembers getting a set of oil paints as a child and learning that they were completely unlike the watercolors she was used to: the oil and water didn't mix. She credits her curiosity with ultimately sustaining her in the profession.
"Painting for me was about being curious," Sivek said. "It was never about drawing something on a pedestal in front of me, a bowl or a vase. I just wasn't interested in that. But I could indefinitely stare at a set of crayons and marvel at their colors. I was so excited to try them! It was heavenly… so innocent, without any purpose whatsoever. I believed there was much more to it, a certain mystery and the unknown possibilities. I still believe that."
The same curiosity may influence Sivek's choices of subjects and desire to work in series. She finds there's always something new to discover in painting the familiar, and looks for inspiration in her old work.
"To understand just about anything, we need to go back to what we have done already," Sivek explained. "One cannot skip certain steps to "get there." I want to understand myself better through my own discovery and evolution. Going back to what I have done and tak[ing] it to the next level is a natural process for me. There is always more to discover."
Sivek's pieces are collected widely by the likes of Oprah and members of Aerosmith, yet Chicago is still a constant in her life. Sivek visited family in the suburbs for the first time when she was 12, and has an indelible impression of the city's buildings and atmosphere. "it was a shock to my system, really. I was a little girl coming from communism, in a little gray town where there was no color, there was nothing. And then I'm here with the skyscrapers and I thought, "Oh, my god—is this even possible?"
So far, she's stayed for 26 years and it doesn't seem likely she'll leave any time soon. "I love to return to a place I call home, to things I know and love. I don't like to move from place to place. I have an urgent need to have a headquarters somewhere, so to speak. Chicago is that place for me."
Lawrence Hall's 4th Annual Fall Fete will be held Saturday, Sept. 24, at 6 p.m. at the Zhou B Art Center, 1029 W. 35th St. More info available at https://www.lawrencehall.org/events/4th-annual-fall-fete/
Marketa's Sivek's work can be seen at MarketaSivek.com . Marketa Sivek Gallery, 1123 W. Belmont Ave., will be hosting an anniversary party Friday, Oct. 14 from 6 — 10 pm :, and the gallery is open Saturdays at 1-6 p.m.
