Seeing the light: Six prizewinners display their work, 1996, Prague Post, English
<small>Z Kokolia</small>
autor textu: Tamara Bissell
Seeing the light: Six prizewinners display their work
týdeník Prague Post, 18.12.1996, vyšlo k výstavě: Cena Jindřicha Chalupeckého, Románské podlaží Pražského hradu, Praha
The six recipients to date of the Jindrich Chalupecky Award - Vladimir Kokolia, Frantisek Skala, Michal Nesazal, Martin Mainer, Michal Gabriel and Petr Nikl - are currently presenting work in the Old Royal Palace of Prague Castle.
An award given to talented artists under 35, the prize was established shortly after Chalupecky's death in 1990. The award is as much about the artists as it is about maintaining the legacy of Chalupecky himself, an art historian and critic of underground art activities throughout the communist era. The artists who receive the prize have been judged to exemplify the spirit of Chalupecky's dedication to free artistic expression; this collective exhibition is a poignant reminder of the rich artistic activity of the past six years.
Only one of the artists here has chosen to exhibit just two-dimensional work; Martin Mainer presents a vibrant series of large paintings of picture frames. Painting for Antonin Strizek, the least-abstract of the five, is less like an unfinished painting than a memory of a painting. Indications of form in this work do not beg reading, but investigation: Unattended drips and broad brushstrokes seem to long for a lost personal history.
Frantisek Skala's work, as ever, invites bemusement and bewilderment, as well as wonder at his mastery of earthy materials. For an installation in one of the less-accessible rooms, Skala has placed (or landed?) a construction of mixed media and small pods of light. A tripod, made of branches, is crowned by a membranous translucent cap; pulses of illumination from within suggest alien, mechanical breathing. The myriad, mainly nonsynthetic, components of the construction force the viewer to perpetually re-evaluate succeeding perceptions of the work. The introduction of various lighting elements, in conjunction with the surroundings, only serves to augment the mystery and magic of the artwork.
Light and distance are the main aspects of two other installations, by Vladimir Kokolia and Michal Nesazal. Kokolia's work is visible only at certain intervals, since the paintings - whose real "color" cannot be known - are brought into view only by bursts of high-intensity light, which wreak havoc on the act of viewing. Attempts to get closer, to get to the work, prove fruitless, so that one becomes engaged not only with seeing the pieces themselves, but also with one's own retinal reaction to the work.
Nesazal's two pieces, in separate rooms, provoke extended viewing as well as looking from different angles. Green spots hover in a black-lit space such that the viewer cannot reach them, or even determine where they begin and end: Just what are those things?
The show is the culmination of six years of exceptional artists.
It is also the signal of a new era, brought forth by the announcement of the next prize recipient: Katerina Vincourova, the first woman to join a previously all-male group. Her presence is difficult to avoid in considering the future development of the Chalupecky award, even though none of her artwork is displayed. While she is a deserving artist, I cannot help but wonder if this is a token gesture on the selection committee's part, as it dives into the next era - in many ways - of Czech talent.
