Aloha
I am a painter inspired by Hawaii, the ocean, and the energy of island life.
In my work, I capture the beauty of nature, tranquility, and the emotions that connect us with the world around us.
Each painting is a way for me to convey a sense of freedom and harmony.
Artist's statement
I am a visual artist living in Hodonín, where I create my paintings. I have felt a close connection to painting since childhood, when I most often painted and drew nature. Even then, I frequently depicted distant landscapes, the sea, and tropical places. Hawaii became my strongest and most significant motif.
Painting tropical themes that I imagined represented freedom, lightness, joy, refreshment, and inner peace for me. I painted from imagination, photographs, and my own fantasy. Later, I had the opportunity to live in Hawaii. Direct contact with the local landscape, people, tropical vegetation, the ocean, and everyday island life closely reflected the way and subjects I had always intuitively painted. This experience significantly influenced my artistic work, self-expression, and my ability to capture light and the tones of nature. The intensity of sunlight, the colors of the ocean, and the richness of natural tones became naturally and effortlessly rooted in my painting.
I work primarily with oil paints. This technique allows me to work over long periods of time, create depth, layer textures, and capture subtle transitions of light. In my paintings, personal experience intertwines with inner perception.
After returning from Hawaii, I also painted the Moravian landscape of the Slovácko region. For me, artistic creation is a connection between two worlds — the Moravian environment and the tropical island. They share common elements found within every culture. These are the roots from which I draw inspiration, bringing forward what is timeless. Each painting captures a moment in which the viewer can pause and allow the light, color, and silence of the landscape to resonate within them.
My goal is to open a space for a personal experience of beauty, harmony, and silence, and to highlight what we often fail to notice in everyday life.
BIO
Ivana Villca-Mamani is a visual artist originating from Hodonín, whose work represents a unique dialogue between Moravian roots and the exotic energy of the Pacific. Her artistic expression blends an intuitive perception of nature, color, and inner states with influences gained through long-term stays abroad.
She has traveled extensively, with key formative experiences in United Kingdom, South America and Hawaii. Encounters with diverse cultures have shaped her perception of the essence of life, which is deeply reflected in her artistic work.
Education and Early Experience
The foundations of her aesthetic sensibility were laid during her studies in ceramics at Secondary Technical School of Civil Engineering, where she graduated in 1994. This training provided her with a strong sensitivity to structure, material, and tactile qualities—elements that continue to resonate in her later paintings.
The English period (1995 - 2006 )
A significant formative chapter of her life took place in Leicester. There, she worked as a stage set designer at The Little Theatre Leicester, gaining valuable experience in spatial composition and visual storytelling.
At the same time, she was involved in art therapy in day centers, where she helped adults with personal development needs, people with physical disabilities, victims of domestic abuse, and people on their path of recovery from abuse of substances, to express their inner world through artistic means.
In 2003, she held her first exhibition in Leicester.
The Hawaiian Period (2014–2016)
Although she had been drawn to the tropics and the ocean since childhood, a pivotal turning point came during her stay on the island of Kauaʻi between 2014 and 2016. Known for its vibrant artistic community, the island provided profound inspiration—particularly through encounters with local artists such as Uncle Louis Almodova.
Her time in Hawaii brought a deep alignment between her inner world and the surrounding environment, resulting in a richer and more luminous use of color and light in her work.
The South Moravian period (2020-present)
At the request of people around her, she created several impressionist paintings with elements of folklore and everyday themes characteristic of landscapes of the Moravian-Slovak border region. In honor of the family ancestor, the painter Antoš Frolka, the tradition of painting rural folk motifs has been passed down in her family through several generations, and therefore she portrayed these motifs naturally.
She remained devoted to painting Hawaiian and tropical-inspired artworks until present.
Exhibitions
Her first exhibition took place in Leicester in 2003, followed by multiple exhibitions in Czech Republic:
* Brno (2008)
* Litoměřice (2012)
* Olomouc (2020)
* Strážnice (2025)
* Vnorovy (March 2026)
* Sudoměřice (April 2026)
* Petrov (May 2026)
* Radejov (May 2026)
* Banska Stiavnica (July 2026)
* LightSpaceTime Gallery Online (July - September 2026)
* Golden Duck Gallery Online Budapest (August - September 2026)
Residencies
Arthunt symposium in Banska Bela, Slovakia, 01.-05.7.2026
Collections
Today, Ivana Villca-Mamani’s works are held in private collections across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, England, Uruguay, and Hawaii.
Notable Collaborations
The Largest Painting Created in a Single Day: A group of artists created a giant painting depicting Hodonín as a water castle. (December 31, 2006, in Hodonín) Link to article in czech langauge
Upcoming Projects
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an artistic residency in Polynesia, further developing her long-term relationship with Pacific island cultures
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the opening of her own gallery dedicated to her artwork
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Exhibition at Kaffka cafe in Nove Straseci near Prague October-November 2026|
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Exhibition at Stara Skola cafe in Banska Stiavnica 1.9.20.2027 -30.11.2027
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Open Art Fest Exhibition Prague 28-29.11.2026
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Open Art Fest Exhibition Vienna 12-13.6. 2027