The core of the exhibition is made of artwork by four artists – Lucia Nimcova, Peter Puklus, Roman Korovin, Pavel Maria Smejkal, who have drawn their attention to complicated, paradoxical, tragic, as well as humorous cultural situations and their interpretation in Eastern Europe. The former collective history and its reflections in the everyday folklore, rituals, media and art construct ambiguous contexts for the historical, contemporary and conventional values, as well as political discourses. The abovementioned artists question and construct new critical views on the canonized values in the Western media, (re)interpret generally known facts of the collective history, ironize about the everyday and seemingly unimportant aspects, as well as construct new modern-day fairy tales about the ties with the past and processes in the present.

Curated by Alnis Stakle and Arnis Balčus.

Exhibition specs

• Archival prints on matte paper

The core of the exhibition is made of artwork by four artists – Lucia Nimcova, Peter Puklus, Roman Korovin, Pavel Maria Smejkal, who have drawn their attention to complicated, paradoxical, tragic, as well as humorous cultural situations and their interpretation in Eastern Europe. The former collective history and its reflections in the everyday folklore, rituals, media and art construct ambiguous contexts for the historical, contemporary and conventional values, as well as political discourses. The abovementioned artists question and construct new critical views on the canonized values in the Western media, (re)interpret generally known facts of the collective history, ironize about the everyday and seemingly unimportant aspects, as well as construct new modern-day fairy tales about the ties with the past and processes in the present.

Curated by Alnis Stakle and Arnis Balčus.

Exhibition specs

• Printed on Pro Pearl paper

The series “JHE” is partially unpublished and non-displayed part of JH Engström’s book “Trying to Dance” (Journal) that was released in 2004 and became one of the most sought after photobooks during the last 12 years and also marked JH Engström’s international breakthrough in the contemporary art scene. “Trying to Dance” consisted of nudes of young men and women, urban and rural landscapes, empty rooms and self-portraits. “He puts a feeling of loneliness high on the list of his sensibilities, he has come up with a strategy that heightens the mood; he distances the viewer from himself and from his world (i.e., you will feel my loneliness, too) by a purposefully imperfect technique,” writer on photography William A Ewing tells about JH Engström works.

JH Engström (1969) was born in Sweden and raised in Paris. He graduated from the … Read More »

The exhibition of works by Mary Ellen Mark (1940, USA) presents a classic documentary photography tradition in which photojournalism and subjective documentary align to and overlap each other. Her best-known series focus on socially vulnerable groups of people.

In terms of plots and themes, Mark’s works hint at the socio-critical perspective of her idol, William Eugene Smith. Formally, the works follow in the footsteps of Henri Cartier-Bresson and the principles of his decisive moment, in which it is easy to spot traces of a traditional art education – Mark studied painting, art history and photojournalism at the University of Pennsylvania.

Professionally, she has been working as a photographer since the mid-1960s, and has been publishing books since 1974 about cultural differences, the homeless, the ill and other fate-stricken people. Mark has collaborated with New York Times Magazine, Life, Paris-Match, The New Yorker, … Read More »