| Artist | Jana Vodesil-Baruffi | Resides | Australia |
| Website | janavodesil.com | Medium | Oil |
| Print Shop | janavodesil.com/shop | janazdenek69@gmail.com | |
| Representing Gallery | Metamorphosis Gallery Willetton, WA. Australia | Themes | Divine feminine Symbolism Spirituality Nature Magical realism |
| Follow the Artist | Instagram | Facebook | Press | janavodesil.com/about |
About the artist
Jana Vodesil-Baruffi was born in the Czech Republic in 1957 and from childhood developed a keen interest in art, sport and nature. After finishing five years training as an Interior Designer, she escaped communist Czech Republic in 1981 and arrived in Perth penniless but ready to work and create her own destiny. She was struck by the freedom of life and immediately set about the process of acquiring as much knowledge about art as possible. Receiving tuition in private studios of various artists and at technical college, she gained a variety of skills.
In 1984 Jana held her first solo exhibition followed by many others. Her creativity flowed from there back into interior design, and from 1989 to 2001 she ran ‘Jana’s Interiors’, which specialized in decorative work, murals, trompe l’oeils, stone and marble finishes in some of the most prestigious residential and commercial buildings in Perth, Singapore and Europe, Working with the best designers in Western Australia.
In 2001 Jana stepped off the ladder/scaffold and opened her studio in Perth, Western Australia , to concentrate on her own art practice. She also established very successful art classes, teaching in the mediums of oil, acrylics, pastels, charcoal and pencil. In 2010 she opened Metamorphosis Art Gallery/Studio to work and display her and other artists’ work. For ten years she ran Jana’s Art Tours, taking her students around the globe to paint and experience different cultures.
Jana is a member of the West Australian Portrait group, West Australian Society of Art and for eleven years she was running Contemporary Australian Surrealists Movement.
Her work can be divided into three categories: Magical realism, classical portraiture and landscapes. In recent years her time has been devoted more and more to Magical realism.
“The ideas for Magical realism have been growing subconsciously in my mind for many years. In fact my first art attempts in my teens and early twenties were going in a similar direction. The fear of not being accepted and the fight for survival put them into my subconscious mind. Instead, and perhaps for good reason, I developed my technical skills in drawing and painting which are seen in my representational work: landscapes and classical portraiture”.
Artwork Themes & Subject Matter
The elements of Jana Vodesil-Baruffi’s magical realism paintings are based on reality, but the way they blend and interact together comes from her imagination. She loves to use the human body and nature combined. Their shapes and colours, combined with symbolism help her to lead the viewer into a world of fantasy, charged with emotions.
In the contemporary and classical portraiture, she tries to capture people in the moment – as they really are. The fascination with faces, their expressions and that which is invisible – the character of the person is an irresistible challenge for Jana.
Landscapes are inspired by the beautiful places she has visited during her travels. Many of them are painted with palette knives in realistic or impressionistic style.
Press
Jana Vodesil-Baruffi’s artworks have been featured in notable books including Through the Artists’ Eyes: The Lester Prize – The Black Swan Years, Artists of Perth, Extra.ordinary. Business Women, Colour in Your Life, Permanent Impressions and magazines including Home and Garden, The Building and Design Yearbook, The Finishing Touch, and The West Australian Newspaper, and many of her articles on the subject of decorative art have been published.
Upcoming Exhibitions
| When | Exhibition | Gallery |
| 2025 | Solo exhibition: ‘To be announced’ | Metamorphosis Gallery Willetton, WA. Australia |
CV
Education
1978 Interior Designer, Prague, Czech Republic
Awards
2022
Finalist Lethbridge 20000
2021
Finalist, Lester Prize
1st & 2nd place in American Art Awards in Portraiture
5th place in American Art Awards in Landscape
2020
Finalist, Darling Portrait, National Portrait Gallery
2019
Finalist, Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Award
5t Place in American Art Awards in Portraiture and Landscape
4t Place in American Art Awards in Fantasy and Religious art
2018
Semi-finalist, Doug Moran National Portrait Prize
Finalist, Liberty Liquors Portrait Prize
2017
Winner of Black Swan Prize for Portraiture
Winner of Paintings for a Cause Calendar Competition
Finalist, Pro Hart Outback Art Prize
Finalist, RSASA/SALA Portrait Prize
2016
Finalist, Paintings for a Cause Calendar Competition
2014
Winner, City of Melville Art Award
2013
Most Creative Award, Belmont Business Enterprise Centre
2015/2012/2009/2008/2007
Finalist, Black Swan Prize for Portraiture
2006
Winner, The City of Canning Art Award
2007
People’s Choice, Black Swan Prize for Portraiture
Finalist, The Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award
1988
Winner, City of Melville Art Award
First Prize Pastel and overall winner, Bicentennial Art Exhibition in York
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2023
Half the Sky, Metamorphosis Gallery, Western Australia
2013/2014,
Permanent Impressions, Perth-Central Park and 10 regional towns of Western Australia, Australia
2012
One artist, one day, one year, The West Australian Club, Western Australia, Australia
2011/2010
Canning College Computing Centre, Western Australia, Australia
2010
Love affair with Italy, Italian Club, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024
West Australian Art Society annual exhibition
Visceral Pleasures, Metamorphosis Gallery, Perth, Western Australia
2023
Black & White, Metamorphosis Gallery, Perth, Western Australia
In and Out of our Minds, Metamorphosis Gallery, Perth, Western Australia
2022
West Australian Art Society annual exhibition
2021
Mindscapes, Moores Building Art Gallery, Western Australia
2019
Mindscapes, CASM, Gomboc Art Gallery, Western Australia
2018
Mindscapes, CASM, Moores Building Art Gallery, Western Australia
Skin Deep, WAPA, Moores Building Art Gallery, Western Australia
Cambridge Studio Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
2017
Royal Perth Golf Club, South Perth, Western Australia,
2016
Kidogo Art House, Fremantle, Western Australia,
