Since beginning professional oil painting in 1963, Alfred Dolezal has completed over 250 works. “I have always questioned the reason for living – I was never convinced that we are just born, make a living and die,” says Dolezal. “Even as a child, I started searching for answers and today I know that our lives are governed by the law of cause and effect. We have gotten used to putting our mind on cruise control and have abandoned our dreams and our intuition.”
Through the years, his paintings have often displayed cubistic tendencies and vibrant colors. He has cultivated a vivid imagination that reveals his mischievous, humorous side and his love for the unexpected. In 1989, he began a series of evocative, symbolic paintings examining the deeper meaning of life.
These eclectic, contemporary, realistic works tell a human interest story, his choice of colors dramatizing their mood and positive theme. Violet and yellow are used in most of his paintings, hues which are outlets for his spiritual expression. Predominant in his paintings are rounded horizons, globes, circular images – all emphasizing his underlying belief in the presence of a loving, immanent force present in everything and in an existence we create for ourselves as a result of our thoughts and actions. “I like to think of my paintings as puzzle pieces that fit together and show you the bigger picture yet.”
Mind Games illustrates this principle beautifully. We all strive for a pleasant life, but occasionally find ourselves lost and tormented in the dark side of our own creation. How did we get there? The first way is the direct way: using a habitual speech and repetitive thought pattern of hating this and that and expecting the worst. The second way is the indirect way: judging with contempt someone who confidently inhabits the upper level and is free to enjoy all of life’s pleasures and rewards. The third way is the paradoxical way: believing you can never fall into this unpleasant state because you are too highly enlightened.
A few people spend most of their time in this lower level; the longer they are there, the more they begin to identify with their fears, worries and dislikes. Their negativity feeds off itself to such an extent that it charges its own source of power, like the blue-glowing creature, bottom center of the painting. Yet, light shines into this underground world and the stairway leading out is always present.
Silhouettes of the creatures below are integrated into the peaceful landscape above. They are reminders of the negative thoughts and emotions that are always present just below the surface and prompt us to be alert and not to fall back into the unconscious mind trap. In order to balance life’s challenges and stay on the upper level, you have to raise the problem to the level where it does not exist: remove yourself from the situation, change it or accept it totally.
Dolezal’s visionary art explores the universal laws of nature and the tools for enlightenment. His goal is to elevate and enlighten the human consciousness through thought-provoking imagery and storytelling. Combining evocative symbolism and mystical surrealism with psychology, history, philosophy, mythology, physics and metaphysics, his paintings offer a blueprint to the human reality, connecting its challenges and rewards to a self-empowered and justly ordered existence. “There are no coincidences and we are not victims in an unjust and chaotic world.” More significantly he questions, “What if our human existence is only like the root of a flower?”
The artwork of Alfred Dolezal invites you to venture beyond that which you think you know- to explore another realm of possibilities where art is much more than just a painting!
The Art of Alfred A. Dolezal, Eagle Crest Resort, Village Square, 7525 Falcon Crest Drive, Suite 100, 434-989-3510, www.alfreddolezal.com, artofalfreddolezal@gmail.com
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