Kill the Vasil in You
19. 7. – 7. 8. 2016
opening: 18. 7. 2016
curator: Alexey Klyuykov
Vasil Artamonov: Alexey, I asked you to choose the art work of our students of the Studio of Painting 1 at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Brno Technical University for the exhibition in Jelení Gallery. I made this decision not only because we are friends and I trust your opinion, but primarily because you don't have much interaction with the studio. You are able to judge the work of the students from the outside and you are not influenced by the inter-studio relations. What criteria did you choose for selecting the artwork?
Alexey Klyuykov: I had a bit of an idea about what is going on in the studio, so I was a little bit prepared. I had to decide what to base my selection on - whether to choose an individual, perhaps a duo, or on the contrary, to present a cross-section of the entire studio work. I eventually decided for the second option, but I limited my selection to paintings with the exception of several drawings. This medium is dominant in the work of most students and chimes with my current interests.Would you like to comment on the title of the exhibition yourself?
V. A.: In the beginning, I wanted to leave my character out of the scope of this exhibition, but in the end my name is actually in the title. I guess that's the way it was meant to be; I am too much of a component of this studio, part of the team, however, in the position of a representative of the institution - which is quite a schizophrenic situation. I am the one who shapes the studio to a certain extent, although I refuse to admit that sometimes. It's also difficult for me to define the exact direction of the studio; that, again, has to be viewed from the outside.That's why I'm interested in how you perceive the studio?
A. K.: I think that I can understand your mixed feelings and perhaps also concerns. Recently, the question of pedagogical authority in art education has been brought up quite often. Sometimes, I have the feeling that the figure of the studio head is perceived as something a priori negative, as an authority that could, God forbid, influence the authenticity of a student and prevent the development of his/her personality. The reason for this, in my opinion (of course without taking into consideration obvious problems with incorrect mechanisms of the selection procedures for teaching positions, etc.) is the uncertain position of art education, originating from the foggy borders of current art activity. Art can be everything but also nothing. The criteria are relatively unclear.
A young art student is primarily led to being able to stand as an independent individual, as a bearer of subjective truth, the proof of which is authenticity. To be a part of a team, a representative of a certain wider direction, let alone someone's "school", to assert the interest of a group - all that does not belong to the current art operations. In a similar situation the studio head would be labelled as an authoritarian. A studio without a studio head is a symptom of time.
The title of the exhibition ironically suggests the murder of the teacher (at least a mental murder), but at the same time the exhibition is under the umbrella of the teacher's name. I realize that this is only an exhibition of students, therefore my curator selection was limited from the beginning to the work of people from one specific studio and that is why I don't see a reason for admitting that. I would be disappointed if the exhibition appeared to be a collection of works that actually, by-the-way, originated from one studio.
Moreover, when you ask about the profile of the studio, I should mention that in a wider perspective I do not see an obvious reflexion there of your work or personality. I would go as far as to say that within the scope of this exhibition there are many artistic positions that must go against your taste.
V. A.: To be honest, I don't have a problem with them... In the selection exhibited there are collective works, as well as individual. I'm under the impression that the selection observes a quality in a wider cross-section...
A. K.: I tried to put the exhibition together in a way so that all the distinctive painting positions would show regardless of my personal preferences. I think that the works exhibited together give an interesting gradient of approaches - from realistic studies to absolute groundlessness.
Jeleni Gallery exhibition program is possible through kind support of Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Prague City Council, State Fund of Culture of the Czech Republic, City District Prague 7
Media support: Artycok.tv, ArtMap, jlbjlt.net and UMA: You Make Art
