Ateliér No. 5, March 6, 2008

in

Table of Contents [hide]

Zdeněk Sýkora a Lenka Sýkorová – Létání, page 1

– Aleš Svoboda: Zdeněk Sýkora and Lenka Sýkorová – Flying (exhibition, Praha, Galerie Zdeněk Sklenář / Zdeněk Sklenář Gallery, 24. 1. – 22. 3.)

Despite the small exhibition space, the Zdeněk Sýkora (1920) exhibition at the Zdeněk Sklenář Gallery is a great project. Entitled Flying, the album of five silk-screen prints (70 x 70 cm) by Zdeněk Sýkora and Lenka Sýkorová (1957) is the highlight of the exhibition. The album is logically presented within the context of two large-scale wall paintings at the Integrated Air Traffic Control Centre of the Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic (IATCC) in Jeneč near Prague (2005, see At. No. 3/06), executed after Sýkora’s temperas The Line No. 233 and The Line No. 234 (both 2005); these wall paintings are represented at the Sklenář Gallery by large-scale black and white photographs, evoking the lobby of IATCC. One of the two model temperas – The Line No. 234 – is on exhibition at the Sklenář Gallery. The set of items on display includes the “unfinished” painting Line No. 232 (2005) and a model of the lobby of IATCC. The exhibition is dominated by the series of five silk-screen prints The Flight No. 2331 and The Flight No. 2332 from The Line No. 233, The Flight No. 2343, The Flight No. 2344 and The Flight No. 2345 from the Line No. 234. Sýkora’s computer-generated pictures are refined dialogues between the picture field (“the whole”) and details. In a “fractal” way, the detail is the full-value expression of the visual language. The exhibition, including a giant-scale photograph of Sýkora’s studio in Louny and snapshots of Sýkora’s executing his pictures, is accompanied by a screening of a documentary on the internationally renowned representative of abstract art Zdeněk Sýkora from Jaroslav Brabec’ series The Europeans.

Karel Tutsch a Galerie Na Bidýlku, page 2

– Radek Horáček: Karel Tutsch and the Gallery Na Bidýlku (At the Gods) (theory / history of art / sources)

See you at the V Club on Monday! Unfortunately, Karel Tutsch will never more visit the V Club. Aged only 66, this Brno based renowned art collector died on February 1, 2008. It was Sunday discussions on art, Tutsch shared his insight in contemporary art with a circle of his friends. Horáček points out Tutsch’s sense of humour, his unselfishness and modesty. It’s a Legend, Let’s Go There! Tutsch’s Gallery At the Gods was well-known within domestic and international contexts, so that artists and theorists who visited Brno wanted to see it. The gallery was located at the attic of an old apartment house and it was really small. Its importance was great. It was At the Gods fifteen years ago, Petr Kvíčala (1960) painted with water curved lines on the wooden floor. The first of the Jiří Georg Dokoupil (1954) exhibitions held in Czechoslovakia was mounted At the Gods in 1990 (see At. No. 19/90). The gallery was legendary before the Velvet Revolution. In 1987, two years before the Velvet Revolution, Vladimír Kokolia (1956) presented his untraditional project entitled One Hundred Hours At the Gods. After 1989, the importance of Tutsch’s gallery was increasing. Petrbok’s Story. On February 13, 2008, the Jiří Petrbok (1962) exhibition, dedicated to the memory of Karel Tutsch, was opened at the Gallery Ad astra in Kuřim. Tutsch had scheduled the Petrbok exhibition for Kuřim and the Gallery At the Gods for March 2008. It was to be the last exhibition held At the Gods before the planned reconstruction of the apartment house in which the gallery was located. The story of Jiří Petrbok is a brilliant example of Tutsch’s insight. After the Velvet Revolution, the team of teachers at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague was radically changed. In 1992, an exhibition presenting works by students of the new teachers at the Academy of held in Prague (see At. 16/92). Most of students were markedly influenced by their respective teachers. Tutsch, aware of Petrbok’s striking originality, launched a solo exhibition of this emerging artist At the Gods in 1992. Later on, a number of the Petrbok exhibitions was held there. Symbolically, the Petrbok exhibition was to give a farewell to Tutsch’s gallery. Horáček points out the importance of private art collectors regarding the support of emerging talents. Not Only At the Gods. Tutsch was a renowned personality, so that he was invited to collaborate with the major museums of art and exhibition halls. He often mounted “parallel” exhibition as counterparts to solo exhibitions of major artists held at the Brno House of Art. He was a partner to artists, curators and the public. Kovanda’s Story. Tutsch was able to appreciate diverse types of art, for example the figural paintings by Jiří Načeradský (1939) and Conceptual paintings by Jiří Kovanda (1953). His approach to artists was characterized by generosity and a creative dialogue. Tutsch’s “focal” artist was Kovanda. Tutsch was presenting his works At the Gods regularly from 1989 onwards. He also promoted Kovanda on the Brno and Czech scenes. In collaboration with Kovanda, Tutsch launched a number of major projects including the exhibition Interpretation Is Not a Crime held at the Brno House of Art in 2002. Tutsch acquired a fascinating collection of Kovanda’s works. “Samizdats” – “Self-Publishing”. During the Communist era, unofficial (underground) literature was published in form of so called “samizdats” – typewritten “publications”. Tutsch was a publisher of eight editions of a miscellany focused on contemporary theory of art. A Heretic from Berlin. During the past five years, Tutsch was interested in Berlin based young artists. He prepared solo exhibitions of these emerging artists in the Czech Republic. His activities in this field culminated in the exhibition presented under the title The Heretic and Co. at the Brno House of Art and the Jiří Švestka Gallery in Prague. Sneak in the Arcades with Your Head Hooded! Fifteen years ago, Horáček published a critical comment on one of exhibitions held At the Gods. Then he received an “anonymous” postcard with “horrible treats”, evidencing Tutsch’s typical sense of humour.

K pramenům čtyř řek, page 4

– Rudolf Chadraba: A Journey to the Sources of Four Rivers (exhibition, Olomouc, Galerie Caesar / Caesar Gallery, 5. 2. – 29. 2.)

The Jiří Alois Havlíček (1948 – 1997) retrospective, held under the title The Return of the Celestial Eagle, showed the contribution of this painter to the Olomouc line of the post-Modern art. In his opening speech, David Voda warned the spectator against the one-traced interpretation of Havlíček’s oeuvre based on Jung’s psychology. The fact nevertheless is that Havlíček was an ardent believer, interested in Jung’s theories. The current revival of piety in Olomouc corresponds to Havlíček’s returns to pre-ecclesiastical traditions and mysteries. The series of ten decals and monotypes of Heads (1983 – 1987) was the first of Havlíček’s outstanding contributions to art. The last works by this prematurely deceased artist were characterized by encaustic – wax burning in oil paints, resulting in relief-like structures expressing the metaphysics of colours, mythologies, cosmologies and mystics. Havlíček contributed to the specific type of post-Modern art, characterized by searching for the new and re-newed certainties and responsibilities.

Pavel Kopřiva – Kosmetika, page 4

– Vendula Fremlová: Pavel Kopřiva – Cosmetics (exhibition, Chomutov, Městská galerie Špejchar / Municipal Gallery Granary, 24. 1. – 23. 2.)

Pavel Kopřiva (1968) presents his glass objects, photographs and projects as complex installations examining the themes of Pop culture and the mass media images. Despite that Kopřiva’s projects are often minimal, a certain dramatic is typical of them. Kopřiva’s the newest project Cosmetics was based on his project Roll-on (1999) that had reconsidered the design of plastic wrappings of cheap cosmetic products. Modified advertising photographs, which had been a part of the project Roll-on, were the core of Kopřiva’s installation at the Granary. Kopřiva divided the exhibition space into five sections evoking a beauty salon, covering the walls with advertising posters which he had altered with sticking foils and drawings in felt-tip pen; he had cut some foils in a decorative way, similarly to the cut decorations of plastic wrappings in the Roll-on project. The set of artworks on display included two figures cut of mirrors – The Limited Freedom (2007) and Silhouette (2007). In this way, Kopřiva reconsidered the dominant visual style of advertising campaigns.

Mezi Marcelem Duchampem a Carlem Andre, page 4

– Jiří Valoch: Between Marcel Duchamp and Carl Andre (exhibition, České Budějovice, Dům umění – Galerie současného umění / House of Art – Gallery of Contemporary Art, 14. 2. – 9. 3.)

The Slovak artist Peter Demek (1980) studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Brno, the department headed by Jan Ambrůz. He enriched Ambrůz’s Conceptual reconsideration of the radically reduced language of geometry of the 1960s and the 1970s with semantics, allusions and connotations reconsidering the post-Modern art. Demek is aware that Minimal art is a part of the history of art, having the impact on our understanding of utilitarian objects, particularly metal products. Thanks to the “minimal lesson”, the contemporary viewer is able to distinguish certain aesthetic dimensions of these objects. Demek’s re-interpretation of minimal forms and his transformation of the utilitarian forms into art enrich our understanding of Duchamp’s prime gesture.

Sladce hořká videa, page 4

– Marie Haškovcová: The Sweat Bitterness of Video Films (exhibition, Praha, Rakouské kulturní fórum / Austrian Cultural Forum, 24. 1. – 21. 3.)

The Vienna based artist of Russian descent Anna Jermolaewa (1970) has contributed to the fields of new media, photography, performance and installation. The Jermolaewa exhibition at the Austrian Cultural Centre Prague, curated by Jiří Ševčík, presents a set of video films. Heroes in Jermolaewa’s are often toys and Pop culture icons such as Mickey Mouse, lovely and humorous on the first sight. On the second sight, the smile has been shifted into a clown’s grimace. The lovely figures and toys serve as metaphors in Jermolaewa’s critical examinations of the social systems. Her works are distinguished in irony, playfulness and sceptic humour.

Karlíkovy recyklace, page 5

– Pavla Pečinková: Karlík’s Recycled Works (exhibition, Louny, Galerie XXL / XXL Gallery, 11. 2. – 5. 3.)

Viktor Karlík (1962) entered the art scene as an underground painter in the 1980s. His early works were characterized by the “barbarous” expressiveness. The 1980s- “wild” painter has turned to a serious solitary artist, who has replaced the dramatic whirling of fantastic colour phantoms by a refined scale of the grey colour and the clearly delineated forms. Instead of his previous assemblages composed of trash and found objects, he has recently contributed by plaster reliefs and bronzes. Pečinková points out that despite the markedly changed visual code, Karlík’s iconography has been basically unchanged. Karlík has kept working with objects and fragments of reality. He has returned from the duchampean “non-art”, significant of contemporary art, back to the “art”. Similarly to the way he “saved” the trash by recycling it into his assemblages, now he “recycles” the traditional artistic means of expression. Pečinková thinks it is not a return to the old certainties but it is a risky experiment. Being fully aware of current trends, Karlík has returned to the traditional principles of visualization, materialized in the media of painting, relief and sculpture.

Kateřina Štenclová – Obraz – obrazu – obrazem, page 5

– Tomáš Pospiszyl: Kateřina Štenclová – The Painting – On Painting – In the Painting (exhibition, Louny, Galerie XXL / XXL Gallery, 11. 2. – 5. 3.)

Kateřina Štenclová (1959) presented her newest series of abstract paintings, inspired by spots on plastic foils she had covered the floor at her studio. She installed her newest acrylics on canvas juxtaposed to the original “models” on plastic foil. Within the context of Czech art, Štenclová is a rare figure who has contributed almost exclusively by abstract paintings. Štenclová’s cardinal means of expression are the pure colour, relations between geometric and organic planes, the painter’s gesture and the shape of the background. Her expressive works of the 1980s had a drawing character. Later on, she replaced them by large fields of pure colours. In the turn of the Millennium, Štenclová started to explore relations between the painter’s circle gesture and the rectangular format of the background, and / or the layers of paints. From 2005 onwards, she worked with a broader brush that stressed the calligraphic character of her brushwork.

Mark Ther – Videa / Filmy, page 5

– Linda Mezrová: Mark Ther – Video / Films (exhibition, Praha, GHMP – Staroměstská radnice / Gallery City Prague – Old Town Hall, 9. 1. – 17. 2.)

Mezrová shares her impressions of her visit to the Mark Ther (1977) exhibition. She, who often meditated about the impact of art on the human mind, experienced a strikingly negative impact of art on her body after she had seen Ther’s video films. In difference to the exhibition’s curator Olga Malá, Mezrová finds cardinal what the story is about and why rather than the way in which it is visualized. Projecting himself into various male and female roles, Ther explored the gender problems in an attractive way. His video films with no beginning and no end are visually refined and impressive. The hidden brutality of Ther’s stories is stressed by the contrast between the theme and the calm classical music. Regarding Ther’s art, Mezrová finds crucial the theme of crossing the border. Seeing Ther’s films, she felt she was crossing the conventional border between the life and the death.

Identifikace – 33 semestrů, page 6

– Miroslav Cogan: Identification of 33 Semesters (exhibition, Jablonec nad Nisou, Muzeum skla a bižuterie; Galerie N / Museum of Glass and Jewellery; Gallery N, 1. 2. – 2. 3.)

The exhibition project Identification – 33 Semesters presented works by Vratislav Karel Novák (1942) and contributions by 77 of Novák’s colleagues and pupils at the Department of Metal and Jewellery, the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design Prague. Novák was appointed as professor of the Department after the internationally renowned glass-maker, medallist and glyptic-maker Jiří Harcuba (1928) had retired from this post. Novák enriched the media taught at the Department with sculpture; the assistant lecturer Peter Oriešek (1941) contributed markedly to this trend. Cogan mentions Susan Ewing, Robert Browning, Petr Němec, Petr Vogel, Ludmila Šikolová, Radomíra Lanková, René Hora and Jindřich Malý for their contributions to schooling. The exhibition was divided into two parts; the “museum” section presented small-scale items in showcases and the “art” exhibition consisted of sculptures and large-scale works. The exhibition was accompanied by a two-volume catalogue; the first volume was dedicated to Novák’s oeuvre, ranging from jewellery to experimental and / or monumental sculptures; the second volume included works by Novák’s pupils.

České medailérské umění 1997 – 2007, page 7

– Juliana Boublíková Jahnová: Czech Medal-Making 1997 – 2007 (exhibition, Praha, Národní muzeum / National Museum, 6. 2. – 13. 4.)

From the beginning of the 20th century onwards, the medal-making developed as an independent type of art, free from the traditionally “utilitarian” purposes; new, non-metallic materials were applied and / or the medal was transformed into the small-scale sculpture. This trend launched a discussion about the criteria by which an artwork could be defined as a medal; the dimensions were the cardinal issues discussed. Czech artists enriched medal-making with various new techniques (cut and engraved medals) and materials (marble, alabaster, pottery, stone, glass, assemblages combing metal with diverse materials etc.). The themes of the contemporary medal are comparable with the themes of the contemporary fine arts, ranging from the traditional commemorative, sacral and portrait types to social, historical and philosophical motifs. Works by 33 Czech medal-makers are presented at the National Museum. A wide spectrum of participants ranges from he internationally renowned glass-maker, medallist and glyptic-maker Jiří Harcuba (1928), well-known of his portrait-medals, to emerging artists. Boublíková Jahnová finds noteworthy works by Miroslava Nová (1935), characterized by the experimental combination of pottery and stone, expressive forms by Ludvík Vašina (1936), the polychromed terracottas by Luděk Havelka (1941), “relief-drawings” by Milada Othová (1944), playful works of post-Modern character by Jan Lukáš (1944), hammered portraits by Jan Smrž (1943), grotesque works by Jiří Vlach (1946), expressive reliefs by Vladislava Mašata (1948), works by Miroslav Kovářík (1951), creations of metal combined with glass by František Bálek (1954), brilliant works by Jan Hásek (1969) and reliefs with sacral motifs by Michal Vitanovský (1946).

Do pěti minut, page 8

– Olga Wewerka: Within Only Five Minutes (exhibition, Berlin, Kunst-Werke, 27. 1. – 9. 3.)

Susanne Pfeffer, the newly appointed director to the Kunst-Werke Berlin, invited a dozen of Berlin based artists to contribute by artworks executed within only five minutes. The focal theme of Pfeffer’s project, presented under the title Five Minutes Later, was examining the relation between disegno and pittura. Wewerka was particularly impressed by the contribution by the artist of Pakistani descent Ceal Floyer (1968, see At. 21/07) who had painted a white curve on the floor and the stairways by walking through the exhibition space with a trolley. Wewerka found superficial the contribution by the renowned artist Hans-Peter Feldmann (1941), who presented a bed in which a couple of lovers had spent five minutes. Thomas Rentmeister (1964) installed “remnants of an orgy in white colour” – sugar, tissues, sanitary towels, wool, candles etc. – on the floor. Clemens von Wedemeyer contributed by an acoustic work – a five-minute refusal. Thomas Demand contributed by a circle cut of red cardboard; the inscription “Don’t disturb” was legible enough.

Uči vidí, oči slyší, page 8

– Olga Wewerka: Ears Can See, Eyes Can Hear (exhibition, Berlin, Hamburger Bahnhof, 1. 2. – 24. 3.)

In the 20th century, the sculpture was enriched with the motion and the light. In 1960, the Austrian architect and artist Bernhard Leitner (1938) designed a unique space-sound project in New York but his bold vision was not realized due to technical reasons. The exhibition in Berlin presents Pfeffer’s early sketches, notes, models, photographs and experimental works. The sound installations / sound sculptures are mostly site specific projects, hardly transportable to other spaces. The core of the Pfeffer exhibition is re-constructions of Pfeffer’s early sound projects in the White Cube.

Edward Steichen – fotograf a kurátor, page 8

– Helena Kanyar Becker: Edward Steichen – The Photographer and the Curator (exhibitions, Zurich, Kunsthaus, 11. 1. – 30. 3.; Lausanne, Musée de l’Elysée, 18. 1. – 24. 3.)

Edward Steichen (1879 – 1973) was one of the most influential figures in photography of the 20th century. This American photographer of Luxemburgeois origin contributed to a spectrum of types of photography, ranging from advertising and fashion photography through war propaganda to art photography. He was an internationally renowned curator and organizer of symposia, including the 1950s-legendary exhibition Family of Man. The Steichen retrospective, curated by W. A. Ewing and Todd Brandow, consists of more than 450 vintage prints. The first venue of the Steichen retrospective was held at the Jeu de Paume in Paris in 2007. The Swiss venue, divided into two parts, is presented in Zurich and Lausanne. A representative cross section of Steichen’s oeuvre (ca 250 prints) is displayed in Lausanne. The Steichen exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zurich, entitled In High Fashion, presents a set of about 200 prints from the 1920s-1930s master portraits Steichen executed for the Vanity Fair and the Vogue. Both parts of the exhibitions are accompanied by respective catalogues.

Cena (pěti statečných / pozůstalých) kritiků, page 12

– Jitka Hlaváčková: The Award of (the Magnificent / Surviving Five) Critics (competition & exhibition, Praha, Galerie kritiků / Gallery of Critics, 31. 1. – 15. 2.)

A new award emerged in the Czech art scene. Organized by the Czech section of the AICA in cooperation with the Gallery of Critics, the new award in the category of painting is launched for artists under thirty. The jury, presided by the director of the Gallery of Critics Vlasta Čiháková-Noshiro, selected fifteen nominees – twelve female artists and three male artists, students at and / or graduates from the three major art academies in the Czech Republic – the Academy of Fine Arts Prague, the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design Prague and the Faculty of Fine Arts Brno. Hlaváčková thinks that all nominees – Nikola Šrajerová, Edita Pattová, Iveta Plná, Markéta Mandelíková, Zbyněk Linhart, Jan Karpíšek, Noam Darom, Daniela Baráčková, Sylvie Brodi, Ivana Štenclová, Jitka Mikulicová, Laďa Gažiová, Alice Nikitinová and Veronika Kavanová – are promising talents. The winner is Ladislava Gažiová. The Award of Critics does not include any financial bonus. The only reward for the winner and the nominees is publicity; the winner is alo rewarded by a solo exhibition at the Gallery of Critics. The Award of the Viewer goes to Ivana Štenclová. Unfortunately, the new award was accompanied by quarrels resulting from a vague promise that some private art collectors, sponsors of the project, would buy works by the nominees. Hlaváčková hopes that the next edition of the Awards of Critics will be based on clearly formulated criteria corresponding to the ambitions of this project.

Czech Grand Design 2007, page 12

– Lenka Žižková: Czech Grand Design 2007 (awards & exhibition, Stavovské divadlo / Theatre of the States, 24. 2.;Uměleckoprůmylosvé muzeum / Museum of Decorative Arts, 6. 3 – 24. 3.)

The Academy of Design of the Czech Republic (57 journalists, publicists, curators a critics) decided about Czech Grand Design 2007 awards in eight categories: The designer of the Year: Maxim Velčovský (Qubus design); The Fashion Designer of the Year: Denisa Nová (DNB); The Graphic Designer of the Year: Najbrt Studio; The Photographer of the Year: Anna Mrázek Kovačič; The Business of the Year: Konsepti Co.; The Producer of the Year: UP Co.; The Discovery of the Year: Anna Hanzalová. A Comparison. Žižková analyzes the two editions of Czech Grand Design (2006 and 2007, see At. No. 6/07) and the National Prize for Design, Excellent Design and Good Design, awarded by the recently disestablished Design Centre of the Czech Republic from 1991 to 2007 (see At. No. 2/08). The organizers of the Czech Grand Design succeeded to make their project popular, including the “Oscar-like” ceremony at the Theatre of the States broadcast by the Czech Television 2 in prime time. The awards by the Design Centre, almost ignored by the mass media, were a complex project that mapped the current state of Czech design corresponding to the European standards; the winners were selected by the international jury. Žižková thinks that the two types of award are complementary, both having their irreplaceable importance in promoting and propagating Czech design.

“Výběrová záležitost”, page 16

– Bohdana Kerbachová. “On A Selection Basis” (exhibition, Praha, Galerie Diamant / Diamant Gallery, 6. 2. – 2. 3.)

The Association of Professional Photographers of the Czech Republic (established in 1990) organized a number of successful projects – Czechoslovak Photography in Exile 1939 – 1989 (1992), Czech Photography 1989 – 1994 (1994) and many solo exhibitions. The representative exhibition, held at the Gallery Diamant, presented works by 45 artists, members of the APP, in a salon-like form. The presentation of “the best of recent photography” is planned as a triennial project. The exhibition mapped Czech photography of the past seven years in its variety and diversity. The team of curators – Věra Matějů and Miroslav Vojtěchovský – selected for exhibition about a half of prints applied. The team of organizers endeavoured to point out that the self-expression was not inevitably conditioned by “art photography”. They attempted to define the concept of “photo designer”. The exhibition hall was dominated by works by the elder generation of photographers. The themes could be loosely divided into five genres – the landscape, the nude, the document, the advertising and the experiment. A spectrum of types of photography ranged from the traditional nudes to abstract and geometric works. A similar diversity concerns the themes, ranging from the reflection of contemporary man in documentary photographs to meditation about the fundamental questions of human existence in abstract works. Kerbachová thinks that the exhibition gives a complex view of the contemporary Czech photography and the contemporary world.

Translated by Magda Němcová