art

“In general, people stay much longer at raves than in a gallery.” The Slovak creative duo behind AUSGANG Studio, Alex Zelina and Radovan Dranga, craft menacing and sometimes unsettling sculptures and mobile installations from materials typically considered waste with an occasional AI crossover. You can run into these in a gallery or, unexpectedly, at a dim dancefloor.

“The feeling of having enough time, the luxury of boredom, is very important to me when making art,” quips Bronislava Orlická, the idiosyncratic Czech painter and tattoo artist, whose iconic gradient “flames” adorn countless limbs and torsos across the world. The scope of her artistic practice is broad: from the aforementioned tattoos to large-scale paintings to machine knitting. Get to know her below.

Kaja Horvat’s esoteric illustrations depict hidden realities that tap into the collective unconscious. In exploring these psychedelic utopias, the young Slovenian artist uses her masterful form to re-find that sense of wonder one feels all too rarely. Today, Kaja brings it back, and sheds light on her artistic journey and inspirations.

Matej Stetiar’s signature paintings explore the marks we all leave in the world and how memories transform with time. Fascinated by the processes of human meaning-making, he creates canvases of possibilities in which everyone can find their own constellations. Read today’s interview to learn more about the emerging Czech artist’s style and insights into consciousness, relativity, and perception of reality.

In her artistic trajectory, Dan Yang’s works trace themes of ancient ancestry, spiritual transformation, and all that is uncanny. Through installations and objects, the Chinese multidisciplinary artist explores her mythic visions of the otherness of human bodies subjected to natural cycles that climax in apocalyptic decimation.

Czech filmmaker and audiovisual artist Eliška Lubojatzká introduces two video poems: Dryaarisi and Zagovory. One after another, they lure us to into a semi-tangible, semi-transient landscapes that are explored and experienced by a dryad, and into a spell-casting phenomenon laden with Slavic folklore and verbal folk magic.

Form, movement, and materials are the tools of Diana Orving’s trade: the Swedish textile artist expresses herself through a dynamic interplay of techniques, material choreographies and animism to find the interconnectedness of all things and beings.

Dominik Málek’s explorations of selfhood, binary opposites, and fantasy have led him all the way to the Světova 1 gallery, where he has recently presented his installation Jacuzzi of Despair. For today’s feature, we sat down with Dominik to learn more about his work, creative approach and inspirations to gain deeper insight into the mind of the upcoming Czech artist.

The garden as a symbol of life and death, a cycle that is taking on increasingly gloomy contours in the context of the environmental crisis. Slovak artist Kristína Bukovčáková paints the reality she experiences every day in her real and imaginary garden. It is hard not to sympathise with the protagonists of her toxic paintings, which will appear at the Livebid Originals contemporary art auction in November. How will it all turn out in Christina's garden in the end?

Adamant Country is the story of a mandorla, guarding an egg. This sacred space is fertile ground for the interplay of archetypes, meanings, and cosmic cycles. Enter the world of Czech artist Petra Janda, the laureate of the Jindřich Chalupecký Award, as she weaves you into her intimate landscape.

At first glance, Iva Davidová’s paintings invite into a soft, ethereal dreamscape. Deeper under the surface however lies an exploration of societal paradoxes which have long prevented solidarity and compassion. Explore the Czech artist’s poetic works accompanied by unique personal insight.

“Always a combination of a material and a problem.” Via a captivating interview, Natalia Kopytko invites us to explore her world of childhood archeology, social exclusion and forgotten stories, whether manifested through ceramic sculptures reminiscent of knotted seaweed or installations of stuffed textile organic shapes spilling over into space.

Nadiia Pliamko’s 3D art captivates the eye with its complexity, which at the same time sings a harmonious, life-affirming song of awe and color. The Ukrainian artist combines classic approaches with contemporary tools to explore fairy tales, fashion, but also everyday life in her signature surreal symbolism. Explore her works accompanied by a dazzling interview that emanates her intellect and artistic maturity.

In his current exhibition, the Jindřich Chalupecký Award winner Mark Ther re-represents the history of Prostějov. By working with taboo and poignant topics, the visitors are urged to reconsider their stereotypical mental processes. Mark’s works are part of the Prostějov Contemporary Art Festival, which its chief curator Míra Macík introduces in today’s feature.

Exhibition/performance Caliban and the Witches by Hélène Hulak, Lux Miranda and Johanna Rocard, which recently took place in Prague's Berlínskej model Gallery, disentangles the archetype of the witch from its negative patriarchal connotations of a cunning, evil and manipulative woman and turns it into a collective rebellious, utopian and hopeful vision. Curated by Céline Sabari Poizat.

Marcelo Pinel has long been exploring themes which fascinate the inner child. His works translate archetypes, mythologies and spirituality into vivid animations, actualizing how humans have expressed the inexpressible across millennia.

Nina Bachmann’s vivid paintings explore the veneers and facades of all we deem pleasant. The ecstatic expressions of her androgynous figures seem to carry an uncanny other side palpable only experientially, balancing momentary joy and looming withdrawal. Join us today for an interview with the artist and in asking whether intoxication is really as pleasurable and positive as it seems or just a disguise of human abysses.

Vincent Snijder’s approaches to design range from 3D scans & prints to animations created with audio software, and inspirations spanning movie and gaming culture all the way to anthropology and history. One guiding line in his works however is an investigation of human rituals and cultures, both physical and intangible. Today you get a chance to explore even some of his upcoming artworks, accompanied by curatorial texts and Vincent’s personal insights.

Linda Morell’s recent exhibition dives into the jellified oceans of a future Earth, a place so alienated from mankind that it itself is uncertain which life forms it will favor. Inspired by Paradise Lost, mythologies and collapse of civilization, her unique installations explore a non-linear temporality through materials and interplay.

Léa Porré’s fascination with transcending the same old ways of interpreting history finds expression in her 3D works and installations. Today, the London-based Belgian artist presents two of her recent projects, Arcana Arcorum and The Beginning of All Moist Things which, in her style, “experiment with 3D world-building as a tool to heal from our past, and future-forecast.”