Czech artist living in Ōamaru, New Zealand

Sarka Cibulcova, originally from the Czech Republic, now resides and works in Oamaru, New Zealand. Growing up in a small town had a profound influence on her life, as it nurtured her close connection to nature, and Oamaru offers a similar environment.

Sarka discovered her passion for art during her school ears. After completing high school in applied arts, she pursued her education at Visual Art Universities in the Czech Republic, earning a Bachelor's Degree in Animation and a Master's Degree in Fine Arts (with honors) in 2010.

Between 2017 and 2018, Sarka embarked on a journey through western Canada and Alaska. In 2018, she made the move to New Zealand and settled in Oamaru. As a member of the North Otago Art Society, she had the opportunity to showcase her artwork. Encouraged by winning the first prize in her initial participation in a biennial competition, she continued to pursue her passion.

In 2021, Sarka held her first solo exhibition at the Forrester Gallery in Oamaru, focusing on the theme "Known and Unknown Nature". The exhibition featured large-scale close-ups of soft pastel paintings and photography showcasing her Land-Art works.

Subsequently, she felt a deep desire to explore the inner workings of plants, to understand what fuels their growth.

Sarka's artistic work is a reflection of nature itself. Drawing inspiration from the macroscopic beauty of plants and captivated by their intricate details, she creates paintings using oil, soft pastels, and encaustic media. Her primary goal is to capture the essence of growth. Her pursuit of three-dimensional paintings led her to develop structural artworks using encaustic techniques, allowing her to control direction, height, and color hues.

Since 2019 she has gained awards for her work, exhibiting widely in New Zealand (including Oamaru, Porirua, Dunedin, Riversdale Arts, and Wanaka).

Open to commissions and tutoring.

Representation

"Story about my art journey"

My interest in art began when I was about 8y old and my older sister attended an after school circle focused on creative arts. One day after a lesson my sister came home with a smaller size of boots. Her friend mistook my sister's boots for hers. I was sent with my sister to sort it out and while we were waiting for the girl to come the teacher offered me to draw a picture. When I finished drawing the teacher told me I was talented. I attended this circle for about 9years till the end of my grammar school.

At the same period of time I attended another after school circle focused on environmental protection where I for example went hiking every week, learnt about animals, plants, and also gained knowledge on how to survive in wilderness.

After grammar school I passed talent exam to the Secondary Glass School of Applied Art in my hometown. I learnt all art disciplines offered at that school for instance painting, drawing, clay modelling, glass painting(both traditional decorating and modern techniques). I also worked at glassworks. After one and a half year I transfered to the reputable Secondary School of Applied Art in Uherske Hradiste(CZ), specialization in painting.

After high school I succeeded in applying to Film school in Zlin(CZ), specialization in classical animation. I had an opportunity to try animation techniques in practice at a place where czech animation was born. This enriching study also gave me knowledge about film history, special effects and history of photography.

Although studying classical animation was an interesting experience, I felt need to express myself through a bigger format. That was the reason why I finished my Master degree at another University in Ostrava(CZ), specialization in Drawing and Art History. During this study I obtained a prize for the best semester work 2009 with the theme "Light".