Katarína Hubová
Ceramic work of Zuzana (Žulka) Zemanová is mostly spread among her family, friends and other people as well as in the Slovak National gallery and the Gallery and the Bratislava City Gallery. However, hardly anybody knows her work now.
Zuzana Zemanová was born as the youngest sister of painter Janko Alexy in the town of Liptovský Mikuláš in 1910. She applied for the School of arts and crafts in 1930 to make her dream of modelling to come true. She was already a professional hat maker at that time. She applied to the ceramic department headed by Júlia Horová at that time. Functional and simple shapes with significant and elegant glazing dominate the work of Zemanová. Her ball-shaped vases are inspired by traditional shapes and wheel rotation. However, it is not certain whether she made the pieces by herself or commissioned skilled artisans to do the work for her. Vases dominate in her work. Shapes and dimensions and colours of glazing are the most dominant characteristics of her work. Figurative compositions, bowls, candlesticks and lamps inspired by the Secession represent a different aspect of her creative work. Žulka Zemanová died after disease, at the age of 59 (1969).