RICHARD ŠTIPL & RONY PLESL

RICHARD ŠTIPL & RONY PLESL

To spread the enthusiasm for artistic achievements Pigmentarium always expresses its admiration for phenomenal art techniques and captivating ideas - this time by exploring and sharing an exhibition in Prague. We consider this exhibition project called "INKARNACE" (incarnation in English) as the peak of Czech contemporary work presentation.

Curator Petr Vaňous has selected pieces highlighting the problematic relationship between contemporary societies and their basic questions related to human finality and death. The artist team presents a selection of their latest works in which they play a contradictory game with the themes of humanity, faith, human transience and vital corporeality. To enable the dialogue between both artists' pieces, architect Josef Pleskot designed a distinctive exhibition architecture underlining the technological complexity of the works and the craftsmanship of both authors. Rony Plesl, thanks to a deep knowledge of quality glass craftsmanship and unique technologies of new ways of glass melting, works with demanding forms. These forms enhanced the work's content while also preparing a spectacle for the viewer in which you can admire the fragile material in its all beauty.

The concentration of conflicting characteristics of glass motivates Plesl to look out for new ways of expression. He tries to free himself from the historical so-called glass art and establishes it as an independent medium. Plesl embodies visually powerful "holy" objects made of this amorphous material, just as a sculptor models sculpture. The displayed pieces formally and ideologically follow the exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum London 2019. At the same time these are a precursor of the upcoming installations for the Venice Biennale of Art, taking place in 2022, and which, with its significance, represents an imaginary art peak: Two Venetian mirrors created in collaboration with Murano mirror master Giulian Fuga are already shining at the exhibition today.

Richard Štipl is considered one of the most innovative sculptors appearing on the international contemporary art scene. He has impressed with his expressive hyper-realistic sculptures, in which he captures the search for his own identity moving on the border of aesthetic irritation. His fascination with both art history and technological processes is also evident here. The difficulty of time and craftsmanship of his sculptures is noticeable at first glance - he admits that it took him more than a year to discover the basic technique of polychrome that is typical for his sculptures. At the forefront of Štipl's work are traditional techniques combined with postmodern symbols, self-reflection and research on the psychological conditions of the individual. The settlement of parallel worlds is underlined by the desire to deeply explore the act of artistic incarnation. In addition to monumental polychrome wooden sculptures, cast-metal objects also appear at the exhibition, and for the first time, a stone sculpture is on display too. Some of the sculptures are complemented by the jewellery of Alan Crocetti, with whom Štipl collaborated on a project for designer Dries Van Noten. Crocetti designs jewellery for celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish.

"We consider the possibilities of dialogue between the sculptures of both artists to be a really fascinating aspect of the exhibition. The fact that this interaction of works is mediated by Josef Pleskot, one of the most important personalities of modern Czech architecture, only adds to the importance of this dialogue,”emphasize the gallery owners Edmund Čučka and Karolína Juřicová.