Altmanova about her work:
All through my childhood and youth I lived in large cities - Plzen, Prague, and Paris.
Surrounded by old stone architecture, I wished for colorful gardens, high mountains, rolling hills, soft meadows, and wide horizons.
Now I live in Altamont, NY, and even though the nature I see around me is a reality,
it is this fervent dream of a child that permeates and dominates my work.
I always start with “Once upon a time...”
My landscapes are without people. I like to walk in them alone - at dawn, on a windy
day, under the sun or the moon, in spring or summer, fall or winter.
All seasons are enchanting subjects for my pastels.
Prague gave me a strong sense for composition, for serenity, and for stability.
Paris gave me the color, the light, and the excitement.
Altamont gave me the nature - the poetry of meadows, hills, trees, and open skies.
When I paint, it all comes together. I start with composition, get excited over the colors, and compose a poem on the Nature. |
Art critics about Altmanova’s work:
Les Urbach, director of the Albany Center Gallery:
“The term ‘Visual Poetry’ applies to her work.”
Peg Churchill, Schenectady Gazette:
“Her confidence, vision and obvious technical control make her works among the best I have ever seen in this medium. Her colors are ravishing.”
Gil Williams, art collector:
“Altmanova’s pastels are remarkable examples in the medium of pastel.”
William Jaeger, Times Union, Albany:
“…a beautifully heady landscape by Altmanova is rendered with pastels of such intense color they defy their name.”
Julia Wyatt about Altmanova’s exhibit:
“It is a stunning exhibit. She is in full command of the pastel medium.”
Fred Le Brun, Times Union, Albany:
“Altmanova approaches her work with a methodical persistence.”
Catherine H. Campbell KN-US:
“Seldom have I seen pastel so variously used to interpret mood and light.”
John Hand, Kite Magazine:
"Altmanova endows the common features of her landscapes with a kind of life they do not normally have in reality: everything is alive and robust, saturated with the joy of color and light. Much speaks of universal truth."
|