What's In My Portfolio: Delia Prvacki

VIEWWhat's In My Portfolio: Delia Prvacki
Interview by Marc Almagro 

Photography and video by JR Tu and Stacey Nguyen                            
10 Oct 2018
                        
Ms. Prvacki is the founder and owner of Deliarts Pte Ltd, an art-consulting and art-producing company                        
                                            

My portfolio comprises a chain of events in three different countries, a trajectory traversing three different political regimes. I was born in northern Transylvania in Romania after WWII, and grew up under a communist dictatorship. I had a wonderful time in a family with great affinities for arts and culture. Along with reading, writing poetry, and playing the piano, I enjoyed manual work, and found great satisfaction from making things.

At 17, I discovered ceramics, which provided me with the freedom I was longing for. I studied at the Art Institute in Bucharest, a city with a great tradition in art, theater, and music. In 1970, I had my first solo exhibition in my hometown. My body of work is a way of recording various stages of my life, memories and passions.

At 25, I married Milenko Prvacki, and left my country, to follow him in the former Yugoslavia, where our daughter, Ana, was born the following year.

Yugoslavia became my second home. I became a Yugoslav citizen, and learned the Serbian language. I was accepted as an artist, receiving numerous awards and recognition. But the political and social climate started to deteriorate by the late 1980s, and finally erupted in 1991. The new reality, including the military confrontation, became incompatible with our values.

As a sign of destiny, my husband was offered a job in Singapore, and we took the opportunity to start a new life in a place unknown to us. Relocating to Singapore was a challenge. It was a test of our ability to reinvent ourselves. In 2002, I became a Singapore citizen. This is now my home.

In Singapore, I have been able to create a body of work that has become focal points in public and private spaces. I’m proud to be able to continue my art practice with same passion and dedication as 50 years ago.

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