Ultimately, knowing you are an artist comes from within, from a deep-seated belief in your creative abilities and a commitment to expressing yourself through your chosen medium. For some, it may be a gradual recognition over time as they explore their creativity and develop their skills. For others, it may be a specific moment of clarity or accomplishment when they feel a profound connection to their work and a sense of identity as an artist. It's a process for everyone, and for Veronika Janovec, it was particularly non-linear, spending years submerged in architecture and other disciplines of the design endeavours.

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Speaking with Veronika, you know you're about to meet an artist, as she speaks of her work with eyes ignited with determination. "My attention now is on the treatment of the surface, on the craft of glazing; something that hasn’t initially been my primary focus”. The ever so slight unpredictability of glaze is charming, often yielding outcomes that surpass control, transforming apparent mistakes into aesthetic marvels, enriching the narrative of each piece.

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I first encountered Veronika within the intimate confines of Forma Gallery, a nomadic art space curated by Vanessa Heepen. It was there, amidst her unassuming yet potent works, that I witnessed the undeniable strength and charm embedded within her craft. Her pieces possess a captivating blend of unpredictability and thoughtfulness, an potent oxymoron that mirrors the complexity of her vision. In the intricate pattern of Veronika Janovec's artistic evolution, one finds a profound narrative woven with density, darkness, and simplicity. Her recent works stand as testaments to her journey, captivating audiences and redefining her trajectory as an artist.

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Our meeting coincided with a pivotal moment in her career, with the show at the Forma Gallery being an inaugural public showcase. Born in Slovakia, Veronika's journey for her formal architectural education with stops in London, Mexico City and her current base in Berlin has influenced her creative expression.

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On a working day, Veronika embarks on a ritualistic bike ride through the bustling streets of Berlin, to reach her industrial sanctuary, located further away in the peripheral Lichtenberg. As we talk, she confesses the ride is like a mantra, rooted in her work routine, allowing her mind to wander and drift with unproductive thoughts, so afterward she can dedicate long hours to the meticulous tasks of sculpting, drawing, molding, and photographing, breathing life into her creations.

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"I often drop and throw things," she laughs, observing the processes that lead her to the form and describing the balancing act of designing new pieces where some gestures of lost control give chance to unknown results. Veronika's sculptures mirror her artistic process – a perpetual exploration and a willingness to risk, creating works nearly impossible to replicate because the things came partially from the swiftness of the hand movement, or use of a tool in a way it wasn't intended to. With each creation, she invests her entire being, working on multiple pieces at the same time, oscillating between looking and finding sculpting eerie  works that exude purpose yet retain an irresistible charm. Is the process ever finalised? Does it end? "It eventually has to. The glaze firing ultimately brings an end to things" she says. Her deep affinity for clay, nurtured during her architectural endeavours, has become the cornerstone of her artistic expression. The material's unique properties captivated her, offering a medium through which her ideas could manifest spontaneously and freely.

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Studying architecture helped laying the foundation for Veronika's journey into sculpture and one year at art and architecture Tezontle Studio in Mexico City proved transformative and left an indelible mark on her artistic direction. Upon returning to Berlin, the synergy between architecture and sculpture became strikingly evident, fueling her imagination and creativity, leading to creation, or in other words - back then she would tell me that this was a pivotal moment for her - ‘’I picked up clay. The material's properties; its plasticity, while providing a high level of detail on so many layers and in so many ways, suited what I was looking for, it offered a medium through which I could interact with the material physically, and that with immediacy and spontaneity, on both, a conceptual and aesthetic level.’’

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Throughout her creative process, she engages in continuous analysis and observation, often utilising photography as a tool for exploration. Analog photography, in particular, adds an additional layer of energy to her work, offering fresh perspectives and unlocking new possibilities. "I guess it's another medium that gives me this very crucial additional dimension - to look from the 'outside' on my works".

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Our conversation occurred when Veronika was preparing for her upcoming exhibition at the intimate space of Grolman Gallery, where she paired her works with monotype canvases by Magdalena Wysocka and Claudio Pogo, a Berlin-based artist duo known for their publishing works and books under Outer Space Press and the article arrives just as she comes to Berlin from her second stay in Mexico City working as a designer at Studio EWE. Her mind must be brimming with ideas to solidify; we can’t wait to see what the future will bring to her.

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