26/05/–21/07/2023
The title of the exhibition not only introduces an unusual spatial relationship, but also evokes Wim Wenders’ iconic and epic 1993 film (carrying the translated title) Faraway, So Close!, which enchanted viewers with its poetic portrayal of the angelic and human relationships of the 90s generation. Indeed, it was also during the 1990s that Lada, Barbora and Anna first crossed paths.
Lada Semecká, Gata gata ton don – 2023 – 300 x 70 x 70 cm – glass, metal, bamboo, rubber, nylon – Photo © Gabriel Urbánek
Lada Semecká is an established, internationally recognized visual artist. After graduating from professor Vladimír Kopecký’s Glass Art Studio at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Prague (today, UMPRUM), Semecká remained at this institution for another eight years, before relocating to the Japanese Toyama City Institute of Glass Art, where she worked as a teacher. This Japanese stay served to further clarify the subtle relationship between materials and natural processes for the artist. This has meant that for Lada Semecká considerable sensitivity, unpretentiousness and a close relationship with nature remain key principles guiding her work. Recently, Semecká has been experimenting with the artistic possibilities inherent in chance and sounds. “I am interested in images and spaces. Through the mass of glass I perceive the atmosphere of the world around me. I communicate with it and through it. I seem to understand it, and sometimes the material itself prompts an idea within me and gives me the time and necessary projection surface to crystallise the idea and then to express it.”
Barbora Křivská, Sad Universe – 2023 – 340 x 40 cm – Embroidery – Photo © Gabriel Urbánek
Barbora Křivská is a graduate of Professor Vladimír Kopecký’s Glass Art Studio at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Prague. It was here that she had the opportunity to delve into the secrets of working with glass as a material, along with exploring its unique luminous qualities. Vladimír Kopecký remains a great source of inspiration for Křivská in terms of the unorthodoxy of working with glass, the joy of painting and colours, and the entire concept of creation. Most of Křivská’s works display unifying elements of a distinctive colours, simplicity, and unusual colour combinations. The artist moves with ease between surface and space, colour and graphic structure, glass art and textiles, drawing and painting. An almost alluring sense of effortlessly floating between genres is a key feature of Křivská’s works.
Anna Polanská, Proprius – 2023 – 38 x 32 x 3,5 cm – Mould-melted cut glass, relief – Photo © Gabriel Urbánek
Anna Polanská is yet another graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Prague, first studying at Prof. Kurt Gebauer’s studio, then under Prof. Marian Karel at the Glass in Architecture studio. Her work is characterized by a strong visual sense on the one hand and an equally strong sense of tactility on the other. Another key element is the importance of details, which helps to determine the expressive and philosophical meaning of the given works. Polanská’s art is closely linked to her interest in humanity, the natural landscape and their respective interconnected relationships – specifically, nature in relation to man, capturing natural phenomena and reflecting on interchangeability and the ephemeral nature of things. Such complex ponderings are reflected in each of the carefully cut forms produced by the artist. Prague, May 2023 Silvie Stanická Exhibition curator