menuIN:FORM
Extensive collective exhibition IN:FORM, which will present 12 students and recent graduates, mainly from the Academy of Fine Arts and the The Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design
Alžběta Rajchlová / Eva Hérová / Jan Uličný / Juraj Ďuriš / Karolína Šulcová / Kateřina Čápová /
Lucie Michnová / Magdalena Uhlířová / Martin Žák / Matouš Háša / Ondřej Filípek / Zuzana Dvorská Šípová
In Czech, to be “ve formě” means “to be fit” or “to be prepared”. It’s used primarily as a sports term, where it denotes someone who has fulfilled expectations, or has demonstrated a particular level of quality or exceptionalness, which leads to their labelling as dark horses and stars. But the term can also be used outside the realm of sports, such as in art, where it can be applied to artists who have demonstrated exceptional craftsmanship, poeticism, innovation, or originally-conceived ideas.
This exhibition presents twelve such talents. They include painters from Prague’s Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design - Alžběta Rajchlová (b. 1999), Eva Hérová (b. 1987), Jan Uličný (b. 1989), Karolína Šulcová (b. 1997), Lucie Michnová (b. 1987), and Magdalena Uhlířová (b. 1995) - who, despite still holding the status of “student”, have already demonstrated their specific stylistic imprints, exhibition experience, or work across multiple genres. They are joined by equally talented recent graduates – Kateřina Čápová (b. 1992), Martin Žák (b. 1992), Matouš Háša (b. 1992), and Ondřej Filípek (b. 1993) - who are showing work they presented at their diploma shows, giving the exhibition a bit of “academic” character. The supporting cast of the show includes Juraj Ďuriš (b. 1992) and Zuzana Dvorská Šípová (b. 1977). Although they also recently graduated – two years ago – Ďuriš completed his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava and Zuzana Dvorská Šípová, as a “middle-generation” artist, exhibited long before she entered the Academy.
The exhibition is not only unique for the sheer quantity of young art on display in a private gallery, but also for the huge variety in the works on display, primarily in the way they’re executed – from the perfectionist strokes of hyperrealism to the looseness of expressionism. The exhibition therefore presents traditional as well as modern creative trends while provoking a dialogue, for which the nooks and crannies of the old-yet-new space of Arcimboldo is absolutely ideal.
Jan Čejka - curator