Meet the Artist
Monika Vitek
Ceramics
Monika Vitek is a multimedia artist based in Portland, Oregon. Embedded deep into her childhood memories are artworks from a multitude of bygone eras that were visible on every street corner, building, and cobblestone below her feet. Her art is the fusion of this 20-year history of the culture and landscapes of the Czech Republic with the vast and stunning horizons from her newer homeland of the Pacific Northwest in the past 25 years.
Monika’s paintings reflect the wondrous reality of familiar yet often unexplored scenes. The space between the earth, which grounds and connects us, and the seemingly empty vast space above which makes us think deeply and dream. She paints from her own emotional center; with an added focus on providing her art with texture and depth. She centers the use of dark iron sand from the Oregon coast in every piece of art she creates along with additional earth pigments.
Her ceramics work is grounded in both functionality and design, and she enjoys making pieces for everyday use that are pleasing to the eye. She works in small batches, creating each one-of-a-kind piece by hand, using a potter’s wheel and hand building techniques. She primarily uses porcelain and integrates ilmenite sand, a mineral that she collects at the Oregon coast.
Follow Monika on Instagram.