Fotograf Magazine

If we were to look among contemporary Czech artists for someone who strongly represents both the current position and the classical values of the medium of sculpture, one possible choice would be Anna Hulačová. Her articulation of material well as her boldness in working with a tradition haunted by figurativeness combine with an almost animist sense for ritual and folkloric traditions informed by a reflection of both the medium and production technologies. The standard poetics often connected with folklore nonetheless does not prevent the artist from embarking on a confrontation with the medium that seems to be the most removed from sculpture as a plastic form – namely, photography. Photography literally becomes the face of the sculptures at the present exhibition, contrasting the values of both art forms while simultaneously accentuating the tension between virtuality and materiality so highly relevant in contemporary culture. The faces of her sculptures represent both a point of view and an image, turning as they do to face one another and their surroundings. Thus their gaze is both an outward gaze and an introspective one, delving into the heart of their own spatiality. The other artist present at the exhibition – Viktor Takáč – is defined by the curator as a “media artist”, a label that aptly summarizes his work with media which transcends its own limitations. The subject of the exhibition – black light – accentuates the dark backdrop of the grey sculptures and Hulačová‘s black-and-white photographs, playing with the hierarchy of background and foreground as well as the subject matter itself, through a video projection of a live performance. All of his realizations at the exhibition form a sort of background to Hulačová‘s work, yet at the same time present an opposing perspective which conceives of the gallery space as an overall installation space, a space of dark light.

Viktor Čech