Lucero Del Alba
LUCERO DEL ALBA exhibition in Shemnitz Gallery is an exclusive presentation of Baffi’s newest output. He deepens his interest in light effectuation by elevating it to the status of the main image-making element. He plays with it in the sense of baroque illusoriness. His compositions of apprehended objects dynamically regroup on the surface of the canvas and in this way they achieve impressive effects. In his new paintings, Baffi has even more dramatised the rhythm of his image “choreographies” to which he indirectly urges also the viewers. On the other hand, he has moderated his previous tendency of colour explosivity. The paintings these days reach even monochromatic positions, they get darker and finer in their expression arriving even at the positions of lyrical abstraction. It is impossible to perceive Baffi’s paintings without sensual experience that by turns excites and caresses the senses. The impressiveness of his artworks is not conditioned by complicated contentual interpretations. As the author himself claims, the painting must function even without a sheet of paper covered with text…
- To make such an exhibition that allows even for large format,00:00:13.729
- 00:00:13.729
- because one even perceives the large format differently in space.00:00:21.144
- 00:00:21.144
- So when one paints he should paint for people and not for robots.00:00:25.774
- 00:00:25.774
- It means that one has to look at the painting.00:00:29.842
- 00:00:29.842
- That's the meaning of exhibitions and galleries so that people00:00:33.636
- 00:00:33.636
- can come and see the paintings live.00:00:37.888
- 00:00:37.888
- It's impossible to appreciate the images digitally00:00:40.906
- 00:00:40.906
- because in comparison to a painting in a gallery00:00:44.913
- 00:00:44.913
- one looks differently at a small article in a newspaper00:00:48.104
- 00:00:48.104
- which is at least because of its size even before he comes to the gallery00:00:51.544
- 00:00:51.544
- when he enters the untimeliness of painting.00:00:55.738
- 00:00:55.738
- As Dávid said it himself, "the painting must function00:01:01.730
- 00:01:01.730
- even without a sheet of paper covered with text"00:01:04.896
- 00:01:04.896
- meaning without any long curatorial explanations.00:01:07.803
- 00:01:07.803
- Let me say at least that Dávid belongs to a generation of painters00:01:11.026
- 00:01:11.026
- who are responsible for the return of the painting00:01:15.156
- 00:01:15.156
- back to the forefront of contemporary art.00:01:19.055
- 00:01:19.055
- I believe, it was around 2004 or 200500:01:22.717
- 00:01:22.717
- when Ivan Čudaj studio was opened at VŠVU00:01:26.789
- 00:01:26.789
- with Dávid as one of its students.00:01:30.931
- 00:01:30.931
- It was truly an important event.00:01:35.015
- 00:01:35.015
- The principle of Dávid's paintings lies in a few paradoxes;00:01:39.042
- 00:01:39.042
- it probably deserves to be said00:01:43.619
- 00:01:43.619
- that even though it is a non-figurative, so-called abstract painting,00:01:47.652
- 00:01:47.652
- it is always inspired by a specific visual experience00:01:51.743
- 00:01:51.743
- or a specific image.00:01:55.834
- 00:01:55.834
- Contrary to the contemporary prejudices against painters00:02:00.056
- 00:02:00.056
- following the tradition of modern painting00:02:04.320
- 00:02:04.320
- and all that abstract expressionist tendencies,00:02:08.852
- 00:02:08.852
- Dávid really knows how to draw00:02:13.082
- 00:02:13.082
- but he works as well with digital manipulation00:02:17.644
- 00:02:17.644
- of the images he works with00:02:21.940
- 00:02:21.940
- which allows him a very brave and thorough preparation00:02:25.833
- 00:02:25.833
- of the final visual effect.00:02:29.892
- 00:02:29.892
- The fact that nature helps me in what I see,00:02:33.822
- 00:02:33.822
- the transformation of the whole, it is still acceptable,00:02:37.872
- 00:02:37.872
- but what's important about it, is that it is still abstract.00:02:41.923
- 00:02:41.923
- I don't want to let in the light of the reality.00:02:45.944
- 00:02:45.944
- On the contrary, I want to create artificially00:02:50.162
- 00:02:50.162
- the worlds I perceive in reality00:02:54.458
- 00:02:54.458
- and create them artificially only on the format00:02:58.672
- 00:02:58.672
- that the canvas can live even though it's an abstract painting00:03:02.648
- 00:03:02.648
- for it not to depict anything specific.00:03:06.944
- 00:03:06.944
- I cannot assume half a year in advance what colour I shall mix.00:03:10.663
- 00:03:10.663
- There is a basic set I use and prefer00:03:14.755
- 00:03:14.755
- but that applies to everyone who paints or does something,00:03:18.924
- 00:03:18.924
- that he has some basic scale he works with,00:03:22.752
- 00:03:22.752
- that's automatic everyone works like that.00:03:26.865
- 00:03:26.865
- And there are those, let's call them fluctuations,00:03:30.851
- 00:03:30.851
- in the form of periods and how long will they last, no one knows.00:03:34.933