Krištof Kintera is one of the most respected contemporary Czech artists – he was recently given the title Artist of the Year – and his new exhibit offers an insight into his latest work. Provocative, whimsical and daring, the “Výsledky analýzy” show is one of the season’s most interesting exhibits. We take a look ahead of the opening.
'Bad News'
A devil mock-up plays drums, a chair with eagle wings in motion – just a few of the many provocative pieces on display at Krištof Kintera’s newest exhibit titled “Výsledky analýzy”, or “Analysis Results”, which opens at Prague’s city gallery in the municipal library on Wednesday.
The title of the newest show by Kintera, who ranks among the most respected Czech artists working today and has recently been awarded the title Artist of the Year, is a term that is often found in the world of business rather than in the arts. Why did he choose to call it “Analysis Results”? I put the question to Kintera himself at a recent visit of the show ahead of its opening.
'Lazy Will'
“Exactly for this reason, because at first, it confuses the visitor to encounter a term from the world of business. And I like the fact that the title is rather vague. It is not an impressive or innovative title, but I wanted to perplex the audience by using this unexpected economic language for my exhibition. And in the end, it is the result of an analysis, because art analyzes the world that surrounds us, so de-facto, the title is actually rather apt.”
Kintera’s work attacks visitors’ senses on all fronts – some of his pieces are moving sculptures, many incorporate sound, light or both. His signature tongue-in-cheek style is dominant even in this latest exhibition, although he had announced before that he was going to step away from sculptures that incorporate moving elements.
'Lída'
“I don’t have a clear strategy like those people who work in the world of business. Yes, I did say that I was not going to make moving sculptures anymore, but in the end, that did not happen. I would say that one of the core pieces in the exhibit is the devil, which is mechanical and I won’t go into what the piece is like exactly. I think the devil is all around us, even though fortunately, where we live, the evil is not as evident as in other areas of the world. I started working with this archetype because it is one of the few remaining and surviving archetypes today, similar to Santa Claus or the snowman. Those are the anchors of my childhood that I subconsciously return to, the few remaining fairy tale figures that we are still confronted by today.”
Aside from the actual pieces, viewers of “Analysis Results” can also see sketches that outline Kintera’s work process as well as surprising installations that play with viewers’ expectations of the site of the exhibition. It runs until May 13th.
