18th June–1st October 2023
White Gallery, Osík u Litomyšle 371
opening hours | open daily, phone appointment necessary (+420 604 232 032)
opening ceremony | 17th June 2023 at 14:00
curator | Martin Janda
guest author of text | Miroslav Haľák
promoted by | White Gallery
The title describes a solo exhibition of mainly paintings by the Slovak artist Marek Ormandík. The works on display explore the topic of the uneven struggle of an individual against society. The paintings tell a story of loneliness, herd mentality, but also about being alone in the middle of the madding crowd. “A solitary figure versus multi-figure composition. In Ormandík's works there is hardly any warm interaction between the protagonists. His people remain alone, even inside crowds. They are, after all, surrounded by other loners. This specific kind of non-interaction is decipherable only when you understand that the faces in the paintings don't communicate with one another because they communicate with the viewer.” (M. Haľák)
In Martin Janda's curatorial concept you can see, for example, the series of repetitive paintings called Save Jesus. The multiplied motif of a male figure sticking out of water with his arms stretched to the sky carries an ambivalent message. This stretching out does not only signify a gesture, a loving embrace but also a search for a stable point, a call for help from a drowning person, a surrendering to fate but also a victorious cry. The ironical downplaying of an individual's problems and the apathy of society reluctant to give up its perks, those are the eternal “Arma Christi”, or instruments of human torture.
The Ksichty paintings (Gobs) are similarly ambiguous. Are they singing or screaming with pain? Teeming crowds of bowing kings, herds of horses galloping straight at a stray person, or the story of a night-time visitor to the beach surprised by an approaching boat full of shivering refugees. The collection of paintings is complemented by the artist's sculptures and assemblage objects reflecting on hope(lessness).
Exhibitions 2023 Exhibitions at this venue
From the opening ceremony:
