• born in 1959 in Komarno, Slovakia
• immigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1990 from Austria
• B.F.A., Bratislava School of Applied Arts, Slovakia (1975-1979); M.F.A., University of Bratislava, Slovakia (1981-1987)

click on thumbnails at left to view larger images

Frank Jalsovsky had established a name in Europe with his figurative work before emigrating to Canada in 1990 and settling in Vancouver. A member of the Malaspina Printmakers Studio and Gallery, he has, according to its Executive Director Carol Nymark, infused the members of the cooperative gallery with his incredible energy and curiosity about new printmaking techniques. Inspired by the landscape in Vancouver, Jalsovsky began to explore it in his work, creating a series of print artworks called Landscapes, which he says were the result of his being "fascinated by the might and beauty, gigantic dimensions, the mystery and silence of the natural wonders that remain unspoiled" in British Columbia (1995). In 1994, he had a show of prints executed in the mid-1980s, called Journey through the Slovak Countryside, revealing that his interest in landscape was not new. Irina Florov commented: "The drama and tranquility of these scenes of the Slovak countryside and the Tetra Mountains invite the viewer to step into them, offering to share the beauty and the mystery that they hold" (1995). From there he moved on to prints depicting the cosmos from his own point of view, in mysterious swirling combinations of planets, animals and people. These prints represent Jalsovsky’s exploration of the fundamental human questions about time and space, past and future, and the relationship between the different energies of the universe and our own interaction with them. He has a preference for the aquatint technique: "Applying fine rosin dust when etching a plate, allows for the achievement of subtle tonal gradations and creates a dreamy tranquility and suspended drama of the scene" (1995). Jalsovsky has been honoured with numerous awards, such as the awards for Best Graphic in the CSFR States Competition, Bratislava, Slovakia (1983) and the University Fine Arts Competition, Bratislava, Slovakia (1985), the Award of Excellence in the Soho Art International Competition in New York (1992), the "Best in Category" Award from Artdex International ‘94 in Vancouver, the Purchase Award from the International Print Biennial, Chase Manhattan Bank of Connecticut (1994), and the Artist Show Case Award from the Fifth Annual Manhattan Arts International Competition in New York (1996).

Evangelical Church, Velke Levare, Slovakia

Journey through Slovak Countryside
Malaspina Printmakers Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia

Bidkunst Osterreich '97
Vienna, Austria

International Triennial of Graphic Art
Bitola, Republic of Macedonia

9th International Print Biennial Varnia '97
Varna, Bulgaria

Grabadores Canadiensis
Galeria ICPNA, Lima, Peru

Vernissage
ARC Arts Council, Coquitlam, British Columbia

Latitude 49° Prints from Canada
The Watch House, Balmain, Australia; Impressions Gallery, Perth, Australia

101 Prints
Great Hall of the Law Courts, Vancouver, British Columbia

Summer Show 1997
Malaspina Printmakers Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia

1997 Annual Members Show, MPS
Evergreen Cultural Centre, Coquitlam, British Columbia

Cottage Hospice's Life is a Carnival
Trade and Convention Center, Vancouver, British Columbia

The 3rd Kochi International Triennial Exhibition of Prints
Museum of Art, Kochi, Japan

Manhattan Arts International Competition
New York, New York

Hand Pulled: New Work by Malaspina Printmakers
Whip Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia

Straight Exchange
Exchanges Gallery, Victoria, British Columbia

The 1st Annual Exhibit of International Contemporary Prints
Central Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

10th Seoul International Print Bienniale
Il Min Cultural Center, Seoul, Korea

9th International Exhibition of "Small Graphic Forms"
Lodz, Poland

Nagoya International Mini Print Exhibition
Mitsui Marine Gallery, Nagoya, Japan

Tokyo International Mini-print Triennial '95
Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan

Malaspina Printmakers Society - 1995 Annual Members Show
Grunt Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia

International Print Biennial
The Silvermine Guild, New Canaan, Connecticut

14th Miniprint Internacional de Cadaques
Adogi Galeria Fort, Barcelona, Spain; Wingfield Arts & Music Festival, Wingfield, England; Festival of Music, Joensuu, Finland; "Ateneo," Canet de Mar, Barcelona, Spain; "Taller Galeria Fort," Cadaques, Girona, Spain; Gallery l'Etang d'Art, Bages, France; The Art Center, Seoul, Korea

International Miniature Art Biennial
Ministre de la Culture du Québec, Ville-Marie, Québec

9th Seoul International Print Bienniale
Il Min Cultural Center, Seoul, Korea

Artdex International 1994
Vancouver, British Columbia

Westwood Plateau, "Street of Dreams"
Coquitlam, British Columbia

Innovations '94, The ARC Arts Council's 5th Annual Juried Art Exhibition
Coquitlam, British Columbia

Cor Aegrum
Italian Cultural Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia

6th International Biennial Print and Drawing Exhibit
Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taipei, Taiwan

2nd Sapporo International Print Biennale Exhibition
Sapporo, Japan

Soho Art International Competition
New York, New York

Yokahama International Print Auction '92
Yokahama, Japan

17th International Independstet Exhibition of Prints
Kanawaga Prefectural Gallery, Kanawaga, Japan

4th Biennial International Juried Print Exhibition
Somers, New York

Instituto Cultural Peruano Y Norteamericano, Lima, Peru

Vancouver Public Library, Vancouver, British Columbia

101 Prints
Great Hall of the Law Courts, Vancouver, British Columbia

5th International Biennial Print Exhibit
Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taipei, Taiwan

Prior Editions Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia

Simon Patrich Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia

Diamond, Hannah. "Arts auction with a difference May 6." NOW 14, no. 13 (1997): 15.

Encyclopedia of Living Artists in America. 10th Edition. Renaissance, California: Directors Guild Publishers, 1997.

Florov, Irina. Journey through the Slovak Countryside. Vancouver, British Columbia: Malaspina Printmakers Gallery, 1996.

Jalsovsky, Frank. "Artist's statement." Frank Jalsovsky-Exhibition of Prints, Frank Studio, September 1995. Vancouver, British Columbia: Malaspina Printmakers Society, 1995.

Madsen, Glen Olav. Latitude 49° Prints from Canada. Vancouver, British Columbia: Malaspina Printmakers Society, 1997.

Sheridan, Vincent. "MPS Artist Profile - Frank Jalsovsky." CHOP Quarterly Newsletter of the Malaspina Printmakers Society (November 1996): 12.

Tokyo International Mini-Print Triennial '95. Tokyo, Japan: Tama Art University, 1995.

Vivian, Geoff. "Review Latitude 49º." Printmakers Association of Western Australia no. 1 (August 1997): n.p.