A clinical scientist with a Ph.D. from Charles University in Prague, self-taught artist Ivana Dostal (born 1979) considers herself an observer and dreamer who is ever-ready to catch the never-ending richness hidden in the magic of one single moment. In her painting and photography, she loves capturing stories that are not limited by time, epoch, approach, religion or any other borders. Stories that are all around us but are not seen well at first sight.

For Ivana, the scientific and artistic enterprises have much in common. “They have to be done as an open mission,” she says. “As a scientist and an artist, I deeply try to show others something that is, in my eyes, wonderful. I hope that my vision of the world might be interesting for others, for you, sometimes.”

Ivana’s series “Girls” is her simplest, most innocent and touching collection. She explains: “I think that these artworks are pure reflections of my childhood memories, dreams and fantasies, the world through the eyes of a small girl, her inner impalpable universe expressed in paintings.” It is for adults who are not afraid to keep a little bit of a child inside their heart and soul.

The cute and bittersweet series explores new experiences (as in swimming) and shows a strong belief in impossibilities and miracles (like the knowledge of the end of the rainbow making one’s wishes come true). Loneliness and the desire for companionship are other important subjects.

There is a particularly moving painting “The Friend”, in which a girl sits on a chair with a pet bunny next to her, both facing the forest. On this piece, Ivana comments: “What is true friendship about? What kind of person should the best friend be? As a little girl, I would dream about someone I could really trust, who would never leave me, who would listen to me patiently and feel with me the small miracles that others are not able to see, who would deeply understand me, who would never be afraid of an unknown forest, because I do. I wished my daddy to be my best friend, but he has never been. So I escaped into my fantasy and my dreams to avoid admitting to myself the reality of the world. I depicted an eternal friendship. I painted a friend who waits patiently, never leaves you, is not afraid of an unknown forest, who listens to you, watches your small private miracles and understands you without words.”