Action Galleries project—and thus the exploration of the phenomenon of artist-curators—Altán Klamovka will host a presentation by the artist duo Klára Břicháčková and Marie Štindlová. Between 2011 and 2012, they ran the smallest independent gallery in the country, Galerie peněženka. Through their work, the artists explored the possibilities of a mobile gallery-institution, specifically within the alternative conditions of the contemporary Czech gallery scene. Documentation of the exhibitions can be viewed at galerievpenezence.tumblr.com. An article on this topic, “Galleries That Never Close,” has also been published.
“Showcases of Contemporary Non-Commercial Art” at Kulturní pecka – www.kulturnipecka.cz/umeni-galerie/galerie-ktere-nikdy-nezaviraji-vykladni-skrine-soucasneho-nekomercniho-umeni. Autorská will feature a project by the duo at Altán Klamovka titled “The Geometry of Relationships.” The uncertainty of order and meaning is their defining characteristic. The work of Klára Břicháčková and Marie Štindlová balances on the edge of mystification, play, and reality. They have long explored the issue of collective authorship, specifically in their project “If We Were One, We’d Be Great.” They previously presented this project at the independent 24/7 Anne Frank Memorial Gallery in Brno in 2011. In the video art work based on this project, we encounter elementary geometric shapes: the circle, the triangle, and the line. There is strength in unity, and this motto became the impetus for their belief in collective authorship. To begin with, they translated their relationships into diagrams, which over time crystallized into geometric templates for the performances themselves, from which three video recordings were created. In the gazebo, they will be presented in the form of three artist-made books—flipbooks.
Over the past year, Klára and Marie have gone their separate ways; Klára began studying animation at FAMU in Prague, and Marie continues her studies in painting at FaVU VUT in Brno, yet the starting points for both artists remain the same. The circle as a spinning motion around oneself, each on her own, yet fundamentally connected to the other. The triangle as a symbol of a relationship whose three points do not lie on a single line, and whose two lines are formed by the bodies of Klára and Marie connected at the level of their heads. A line in which they cast shadows onto one another, and thus the shadow is extended into infinity. The work of Klára Břicháčková and Marie Štindlová contributes to the contemporary visual scene by questioning the very essence of the meaning of art, in the spirit of “we’re not afraid that this might be on the verge of madness, and the ironic line itself in its visual form suits us.” In addition to the flipbooks, the Altán Klamovka will also feature an object created specifically for this exhibition: a cross-section of mountains with a lake, which, according to the artists, again refers to the phenomenon of collective authorship.
Lenka Sýkorová
