As this blog has a goal to create a personal art map, it seems logical to start by answering the question of where are we going and develop with the event description.
Location. The first place that will be introduced within this blog is Prague Rudolfinum, which is a great Neo-Renaissence building in the city center dating back to the 1884 that has a concert hall of Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and a Galerie Rudolfinum under its roof. According to the official website:
“the programming is devoted to contemporary fine art with occasional glimpses of the past. An exclusive focus on exhibitions (the gallery does not have its own collections) and cooperation in the international context shapes Galerie Rudolfinum into an open communication environment, and other activities within exhibition projects contribute to this: issuing of catalogs and publications, organizing lectures, seminars and numerous accompanying programs, as well as music and film festivals. Educational work and lectures are also some of the other important components.”
Due to tis own and very specific architecture the gallery suggests linear composition of the exhibition, which is hard to be avoided, which makes it a great place for medium-sized retrospectives, but limits the possibility of hosting large scale installations or artworks that require white cube environment.
Exhibition. MODEL is a collective show curated by an established Czech curator Ladislav Kesner; the exhibition opens up a broad topic of models in art and presents cases of different approach to the variety of concepts behind the term:
“The exhibition presents a selection of contemporary authors, including some of the internationally most acclaimed artists who in their work explore the phenomenon of models and modelling – either constructing 3D models, or using models to create paintings, photographs and videos. By bringing together a range of art works in different media, scale and artistic approaches, the exhibition aims to open a space of reflection on the enigmatic concept of model and modelling. It will specifically address two issues. First, how do we understand and define “model” in relation to image, object and sculpture? Second, it will highlight the complex and multifaceted relationship between model and some form of tangible or imagined reality, the ways models negotiate the distance from/to some precedent or original, or how some of them they assume a form of hyperreal simulacra. It will thus open a space of reflections on the way in which artistic intervention manages to establish the effect of the real, while often simultaneously subverting it. At the same time, through the range of artistic positions included, the exhibition will present the diverse roles and uses models in artistic practice can assume: from a memory tool, cognitive instrument, self-sustained artistic object to an instrument of social argumentation and discourse, or just a toy.”
Artists featured: Thomas Demand, Lorenz Estermann, Antony Gormley, Mariele Neudecker, Julian Opie, Jaroslav Róna, Tom Sachs, Pavla Sceranková, Thomas Schütte, Rachel Whiteread, Edwin Zwakman.
Personal Opinion. For someone who is not familiar with contemporary art this show provides a great opportunity to discover the world of endless interpretation with an accurate narration of provided texts, making it easier to understand the concepts of the works as well as the logic of the exhibition itself. The texts take you from one artist to another, answering the questions that a spectator may have when facing works of art that seem very similar or very unrelated to the topic. The exhibition dictates you the thoughts and impressions, but it certainly makes you think and feel something yet unexperienced.
What stands out apart from the classic didactic of text is the diversity of the works presented: from the familiar architectural models, to concepts of perfect living space and models of the emotional human state — needless to say anyone may find something to their liking within the presented range of concepts and works.
This exhibition is an example of an original idea being brought into a very classical environment and weaved it in perfectly with style and high taste.
reshe_prg_artmap 