An evening of art by Zuzana Medzay and poetry by Jozef Leikert & John Minah

Ambassador of Slovakia Lubomir Rehak cordially invites you to an evening of poetry and art When the Journey’s the Destination, 13 March 2017. The exhibition will last until 24 April. The evening will start with readings of poems by the prominent Slovak poet Jozef Leikert translated by John Minahane, followed by the opening of an exhibition by the encaustic Slovak artist Zuzana Medzay with a glass of Slovak wine. The opening hours are Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm. Prior registration is necessary: emb.london@mzv.sk

JOZEF LEIKERT (1955)

Jozef writes poetry and prose non-fiction. He has published 11 poetry collections, the latest are The Cobweb of Being (2016), Wrinkles of a City (2016) and Eights of Galaxy (2016). Moreover, he has the following books of selected poems Naked Face (2001), Barefoot (2010), Cupped Hands (2013) and the bibliophile edition Eternity of the Roots (2008, 2009), comprising one poem in 33 languages. Books of his selected poetry have appeared in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Macedonia, Serbia, Austria, USA, Belarus and Canada. The collection Touches of the Soul appeared in Hungary, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and in Esperanto.

He has published 18 books of prose non-fiction, several of them have been published abroad. The anthology Times and Time (2010) and monograph The poetic world of Jozef Leikert (2016) is about his life and work life. He has received several awards for his literary efforts, both at home in Slovakia and abroad.

Jozef has finalised the book of poems Diminishment (2005) in English, that he is hoping to publish in the United Kingdom. This book represents the climactic fruit of Jozef’s internal maturing. It portrays the critical, breaking state of a contemporary human’s heart guaranteed by personal sincerity.

JOHN MINAHANE (1950)

Born in Ireland, since 1996 John has lived and worked in Slovakia. Roughly since 2004 he has been translating Slovak literature to English. He has translated works by many prose-writers and especially poets, including: Margita Figuli (Three Chestnut Horses), Ladislav Novomeský, Milan Rúfus, Ján Buzássy, Mila Haugová, Ivan Štrpka. In 2016 Jozef Leikert’s collection Pavučina bytia / The Cobweb of Being appeared with his translation.

John has also written books and essays on Irish literature. In recent years he has edited an occasional philosophical/literary journal published in Ireland, The Heidegger Review. The most recent issue (October 2016, No. 3 – devoted to the work of some philosophers and poets in connection with World War 1) includes his translation of The Bloody Sonnets of Pavol Orszagh Hviezdoslav.

ZUZANA MEDZAY (1980)

Zuzana has been painting with the encaustic painting technique since 2004. For her, it is the best way to paint intuitive expressive paintings. Her motives are power of emotions, passage of time and life cycle on Earth. She focuses on topics like phoenix, way, elements in us and around us, beginnings and ends, acceptance, life on its own with all its emotions, which belongs to life.

She says: „Encaustic painting is about fire and the power of fire. I never know what the fire will make with the picture. I trust the element of fire like I trust life. The word encaustic means in Greek language “to burn out” or “to burn” and thus to transform something old to something new through change and through the power of fire.“ Encaustic painting involves mixing heated beeswax, various white waxes and dammar or other natural resins that are applied to a surface.The history of encaustic painting goes back to Ancient Greece, at least to the 5th century B.C.

Her works were exhibited in several towns in Slovakia and also in Prague. She has participated in 7 solo and 11 collective exhibitions. Zuzana was awarded a prize in a competition “Trnavská paleta” (Trnava Palette) for her work and for restoration of encaustic painting in 2010. She has also illustrated five books and paints for charity.