Where are you from?
My mother comes from Bratislava, my father from Bytča, I grew up in Prievidza. Thanks to that, I feel like I belong a little bit to each of these places.

Where did you study?
Ceramics at School of Applied Arts Josefa Vydru and The Academy of Fine Arts and Design, both in Bratislava.

Who was your best teacher?
London and Shenzhen. I was in London for a post-graduation internship at artist Barnaby Barford’s studio and in Shenzhen for an artist-in-residence programme.

Who were/ are your parents?
My parents met when they were studying at the Vocational Agricultural Technical School in Piešťany. My father then studied landscape architecture, and he found a career in this profession. So he also worked with clay in his own way, just in different dimensions. He and my mother worked together in a joint company, which they set up in the early 1990s. I inherited from her a sense of sensitivity and detail.

What don’t you enjoy in design?
Laminate floors imitating wood, ceramic tiles imitating cement tiles.

And on the contrary, what do you?
Unexpected solutions that surprisingly work together. I love it when materials are recycled and when design and architecture can innovate while respecting the surroundings. Something like London’s Assemble Collective, Spain’s Apparatu and from the local scene, Soňa Králiková from Mimo architects is trying to do it. The reconstruction of her own family house is great, I’m looking forward to the final result.

What do you listen to?
All sorts of thing. My playlist is also influenced by the people closest to me. Right now Talking Heads are playing in the background, and yesterday I hit replay on Aggressive Alpine Skiing by Mausland band a few times. And then audio books.

Your favourite film or cartoon?
The Neverending Story and also Ridley Scott’s Legend.

Who do you respect as an authority in and out of your field?
Kurt Gebauer – he was the head of the sculpture studio at the Prague UMPRUM when I was there as an exchange student.

What thing did you last buy?
Trekking sticks by Zajo.

Do you buy professional literature? What was the latest book?
In Praise of Shadows by Tanizaki Junichiro.

Do you vote?
Always.

Who throws the best parties?
Hudson Mohawke. He was in Slovakia four times, I didn’t miss him even once.

Your favourite dome?
Church of the Holy Apostles in Thessaloniki.

Party dress. Made by…?
I mostly found them in my grandmother’s closet. Now also in puojd.

Your hero from the past?
Beatrix Kiddo.

Best/nicest house?
Our grandparents house in Bytča.

Do you have any stereotypes when you work? How do they show?
Hmmm…definitely yes 🙂

What’s on your desktop?
Illustration by Barbara Idesová. And on the analog one it’s variable.

Best exhibition, work of art?
The first thing that came to mind was Tracey Emin’s retrospective exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London. Then Pablo Picasso’s ceramics, which I saw in Hong Kong, and Ugo Rondinone’s in Shanghai.

What do you respect both from the local and foreign design scene? And why?
From the local ceramics scene, Imrich Vanek and Miloš Balgavý, for example, have earned my respect. Vanek’s works can move me in terms of content. I admire Balgavý for his precise craftsmanship and timeless design. From the foreign contemporary scene, I have recently been intrigued by the ephemeral work of Phoebe Cummings.

Ethics or money?
Unfortunately ethics.

Extraordinary book?
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy by Liu Cixin.

Optimist, pessimist, nihilist?
Optimist.

Do you have any hobby?
Canicross, skijoring.

Solo or in a collective?
Individually or in a small group.

Slovakia as the Promised Land?
4 seasons, hills over 1000 meters and the possibility to go abroad from here very easily – so for me for sure.