Location. Cafe Lajka is a local cafe in Prague 7, not far from Veletržní Palác , it has a small red-brick cellar exhibition space that can host solo shows of the emerging artists (the solo-cellar-shows).
Curator. not mentioned anywhere, so my guess is Karel himself.
Artist. Karel Kunc studied in the studio of Spatial Forms headed by Jiří Příhoda at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Space plays a significant role in the implementation of his work.
Personal Opinion. Going to a solo cellar show is always a one of a kind experience (despite the fact that there are usually a number of them being open at the same time in Prague), anyhow it usually involves closer communication with the people who work at a given cafe: you need to come and ask about the show, state your intention to see it, and if you are lucky the show will still be there. In the case of this show nobody has requested to see it before us, so the bartender went down to switch the lights on for us. What concerns the exhibition itself, there were no texts whatsoever and it took me a while to find anything about the artist online. The title of the exhibition reads trainee in English, though I cannot say for sure how are these works, connected to the topic, but if I may guess, it is somehow connected to the concept of learning to be an artist and wavering of it: the paper is so thin and the movement of the inked brush has to be precise and accurate to produce such works; I might suggest, Karel had to learn and experiment to achieve given results. It is minimalism, it is abstraction, very similar to many other works but in his case the communication of medium and technique are almost entrancing. I would gladly visit a vernissage to ask Karel, what it is all about.
Location. Galerie Nová síň is a private medium size white cube gallery with one spacious hall and natural daylight; it is located between Národní Divadlo and Národní Třída in a small quiet street and has a long history, dating back to the end of 19th century, when it served as a studio, later transformed into a gallery in 1934.
Curator. PhDr. Terezie Zemánková, field of expertise – art brut
Artist. Jaroslav Štědra is a renown Czech artist, who has been true to his style throughout his career, specializing in abstract color fields and mastering the poetic approach to art:
“Jaroslav Štědra is precisely the type of artist who does not succumb to these pressures, while displaying these very esthetic and philosophical qualities. He communicates them through his work. He has mastered the strength of testimony of all the senses.
His painting, almost pedantic in its wonderfully soft approach to endless nuances, has created a supernatural world, warranted by the natural one. The colour, the surface subordinated to an original composition and plan informs us or rather tells us with supernatural feeling about the perspective of the world in the transcendental position of its meaning.“
Dimitrij Kadrnožka (Štědra’s fellow Czech artist)
The central topic of Štědra’s work is space and light, that is based on a concrete place or environment or some sort of mental space and the light of thought, connected to the sensory impression of volume, sound and smell of a particular moment.
Personal opinion. The second half of the 20th century has provided the world with a great number of abstract artists and one may feel rather lost facing more and more color fields, but I have to pay my respect to Štědra as someone who felt dedicated to his vision and style working in communist Czechoslovakia. At the same time his works remind me of the undefined shapes and colors of the room as I wake up and everything is out of focus for a brief moment, as well as other senses are not fully awake, this turbid and cloudy image is hard to chase and remember, it is ephemeral but worth trying to be chased.
Exhibition-wise I would not say that the show has any specialty, it is a white room with paintings on the walls at a regular hight without any type of lively dynamic. It is calm and simple, no overpowering text, no secret, you get the full impression of it as you enter.
photos by Matyáš Fára
More of artist’s works can be found in his online gallery.
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.
Rudolfinum Hall
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.
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