Emil Purgina

​In order to survive in a new country, Emil applied his talents to gain employment at the University of Ottawa. He helped to establish the Office of Medical Communication Services at the Faculty of Medicine, eventually serving as head of the Office until his retirement in 2000. He also became engaged academically, lecturing on the subject of Utilitarian Graphic Art at the Department of Fine Arts. By popular demand, he later added a two-year course in Art Development for a select group of talented students. In his retirement, Emil continues to lecture on the subject of Central European Art History at the Department of History.

Alongside full-time employment, Emil remained active as a painter, and as a member of the vibrant artistic and political community of Czechs and Slovaks living in Canada. He joined “The Group of Contemporarists ’68”, which united the leading artists and literary avant-garde of Czech and Slovak origin living in exile. He served as a Vice-President of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, and became a co-founder of the first Czechoslovak and later Slovak television program in Canada. His participation in numerous art exhibitions in the western world is a testament to his creativity and dedication to painting.​

​By : Stefan Palko

Emil Purgina was born, raised and educated in Bratislava, Slovakia. Surrounded by a rich artistic heritage from his early childhood, he was fascinated by a variety of art forms and styles, which had evolved over centuries in Central Europe. As a keen observer of life and culture, an interest in artistic expression came to him naturally. At one point he was drawn to study architecture, but the pull of fine arts turned out to be too strong. He graduated with a Masters Degree in Fine Arts and Art History at Komensky University, and painting became his life-long passion.

In the years immediately following his graduation, Emil began a very successful career in the world of art. Unfortunately, his work in Slovakia came to an abrupt end, when the Soviet Army invaded in 1968. He left his native country and, in search of freedom, chose Canada and settled in Ottawa. 

Biography

​An intriguing aspect of Emil’s method is his ability to reproduce vivid scenes from memory. Like many artists, travel is a source of inspiration for his paintings. He loves to travel, but rarely uses a sketchbook to document inspirational images. His power of observation is so reliable that he only diarizes the details of observed shapes, forms, and colours in unique cases posing special artistic challenges.

Emil’s paintings are dominated by forms and colours, and their evolution reflects a process of searching for personal artistic expression. Through form and colour Emil attempts to simplify reality to a meaning that viewers can recognize. The colour of his paintings conveys his own poetic experience of life and nature as they surround him. This experience has to be carefully digested by the artist before it can be interpreted and shared.

A painting is not created by a single brush stroke. It is built gradually like a house, layer by layer. Consequently, one look at a painting is not enough to understand its complete meaning. To discern its deeper meaning, the viewer needs to consider a painting’s subtleties. For a patient and careful observer, Emil’s art offers a journey to a poetic world. It represents an escape from the reality of daily life to a bright world in which water, air, and nature are transformed into a rhapsodic mood.

In my many discussions with Emil, we have covered a variety of themes concerning his artistic work. A few of his reflections are selected and included in this catalogue.

Personal Portfolio