Two new exhibitions, including the main project of the spring block, will open at the Brno House of Arts next week, Tuesday, 28 April. The public vernissage of the retrospective ‘Words of Dalibor Chatrný’ and the international exhibition ‘Distorted Image: Chapters from the Beginnings of Video Art’ opens at 6pm.
‘Distorted Image’ focuses on the environment of Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary from the 1960s to the 1990s, but the topic it addresses is very contemporary. During this period, a certain part of the art scene began to deform and manipulate analogue and digital images in order to question their ability to inform truthfully. The exhibition features experimental films, early animations, event recordings and independent video magazines, in which a number of artists, journalists and philosophers participated.
The second exhibition, ‘Words of Dalibor Chatrný’, is the culmination of events marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of the renowned Czech artist. From his wide oeuvre, the exhibition focuses on the so-called ‘word works’, in which Chatrný (1925-2012) explored issues of language, the meaning of words, and the conscious connection between reading and seeing. At the same time, however, Chatrný remained faithful to the craft of painting and – unlike other, more distinctly conceptual artists – carefully preserved the color, expressiveness and authorial gesture in his work.
The exhibition ‘Words of Dalibor Chatrný’, curated by Alena Pomajzlová, will run until 7 June at the Brno House of Arts (‘Dům umění’). ‘Distorted Image: Chapters from the Beginnings of Video Art’, curated by Lenka Dolanová, will run until 16 August.
