Jozef Tomko Tatranský sochár pochádza z malebnej liptovskej dediny Dovalovo. Narodil sa 15.8.1954 v Liptovskom Mikuláši. Žije a tvorí v Tatranskej Lomnici, kde má od roku 1996 svoju súkromnú galériu. Venuje sa sochárskej a maliarskej tvorbe, fotografuje a píše básne. Štúdium sochárstva realizoval autodidakticky, zúčastňoval sa plenérov a seminárov organizovaných Tatranskou Galériou, ktoré boli jeho zdrojom poznatkov a skúseností. Odborné poroty mu udelili tieto ocenenia v celoslovenských a okresných súťažných výstavách: 1.cena za sochu-POPAM v rokoch 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 2.cena za sochu-Tatranská Galéria 1983,1984 2.cena za sochu-Výtvarný Poprad 1980 3.cena za maĺbu-Tatranská Galéria 1984, 1985 diplom za sochu-Výtvarná Dubnica diplom Petzvalovo múzeum Spišská Belá 1979 Čestné uznanie za maĺbu-POPAM 1988 Nasleduje rad samostatných i kolektývnych výstav v tatranskom regióne. Otvorená je stála expozícia v jeho súkromnej galérii v Tatranskej Lomnici. Diela Jozefa Tomka sú predávané v galériách na Slovensku v Brne, Prahe v Dubline a vo Viedni. Realizoval súsošie pre Kostol v Senftenbergu v Nemecku. Je autorom putovnej ceny skialpinistu pre memoriál Vlada Tatarku. Zúčastnil sa niekoĺkých ročníkov tvorby ,,ski,, sôch zo snehu pri príležitosti Tatranského pohára. Navrhol a odlial bronzovú plaketu na Tatranský simbolický cintorín. Je zakladateĺom sochárskeho sympózia Socha Tatrám, ktoré sa konalo v Tatranskej Lomnici. Jeho tvorba nemá rámce, ktoré by ju striktne vymedzovali. Sochárska tvorba Jozefa Tomka pozostáva z figurálnej kompozície s hlbokým psychologickým kontextom, iné abstraktné kompozície majú premyslený dej a čisté tvaroslovie, jeho tvorba nemá rámce ktoré by ju striktne vymedzovali. Pracuje s drevom, kameňom ,tepe ,robí rôzne kombinácie materiálov. Tvorí komorné bronzové plastiky na základe znalosti anatómie, ktoré expresívne predlžuje.Jeho práce obsahujú silný psychologický akcent. V maĺbe sa nezaprie sochárska tvorba. Premyslene buduje kompozíciu, dosahuje plný tok svetla, pracuje s komplementárnymi farbami. Tak ako dlátom, štetcom aj perom nájde formu a zmysel básne, bez miesta pre patetickķ pózu. Jeho slová sú strohé a presné. Necháva priestor pre čitateľa, ba priam ho núti pokračovať ,dotvoriť. Básne Jozefa Tomka boli publikované v podtatranských periodikách. Jzef Tomko Date of birth: August, 15 th, 1954 Place of birth: Dovalovo, Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia Job: He Works as a creative artist in an atelier and in a private gallery in Tatranská Lomnica, Slovakia. He introduced his first woodwork, wood sculpture, at a district competition in Poprad, Slovakia, in 1977. At that time he was devoting his time to the artistic photography for a longer time, for which he was awarded several times. He came to the art making as a self-taught-at first in sculpture, later in painting. He gained the knowledge about the creative expressing of ideas at numerous artistic encounters and symposiums, which had been organized by Tatranska galeria and Tatranske kulturne stredisko. Here he came to the first instructive confrontations with the known artists from the Tatry region. He participated at the summer statuary encounters organized in Bratislava neighborhood. This was the place and time when he met and got to know makings of the known Slovak sculptors, such as Tibor Bártfay, Juraj Hovorka, Zdeno Cipár, Michal Zdravecký and others. Despite numerous influences and encounters he does not deviate from the figural representation of a given idea by the use of wood, stone and bronze. An accident – broken hand caused that Jozef started painting. In the time when he could not work with wood and stone, he started a new adventure with painting. Anatomy learnt in sculpture and light-and-shadow game used in the artistic photography enabled him to easily create various figural compositions. His attitude to mountains, where he lives, in reflected in the painting of the Tatra peaks. All of the above-mentioned creative techniques are involved in his present making. However, the most expressive is still the figural and not rarely also abstract bronze, wood and stone sculpture, which is the transformation of the human being, the poetry without words. His works are situated in the private art galleries in Prague, Brno, Vienna and Bratislava. "Profession What is the art creation – my art creation?It’s my reflections, my conversations, my words.I talk and communicate trough my sculptures and pictures.My work helps me to give information about my feelings, my perceptions and my mood." I stamp the statue with my seal and leave it with the permission to live on its own. After that it talks for me, speaks and recites. I don’t know and even don’t want to create sculptures with a negative message. I want to give a positive energy. My work is full of a positive energy. And that is what my work is about.The ways of my work. There are several ways of my work. The though is on the beginning. It looks for the form of processing and the material. " " Material is my favorite part of the work. It evokes the thought. I conform to it and I respect it. Experiment – it provokes and moves me forward.I’m not bounded by any school or atelier in my work. I create without barriers and boxes. The ideas. The ideas are everywhere around me. I work as a transformer and recreate the dreams, the experiences and the fantasy into the art.I like a figural composition. I like to fight the anatomy, through which I get to the psychics and to the psychology. The form of processing. The material leads the way of the process. The soft materials, like clay and wax followed by bronze tempt for details.Hard materials, like a stone or a tree trunk ease the form and allow me to skip the details. It hides them but leaves a lot to divine.The easier form without details can sometimes say more. Every artist has its own way of work. There are binding rules for everybody, but everybody is an individual, free in his work. And about this is every art - about the variety and the uniqueness. "