I present my newest woodcuts at this exhibition.
I made a part of them during my residency in Japan, and the rest in Košice - my home.
I made them with Ukio-e techniques that I picked up in Japan.
The translation of Ukio-e is "floating, unanchored world".
The thought of temporality of life in this world served as a strong inspiration.
It originated in the search for the beauty of everyday life.
I went to Japan to study the position of women in society,
I was curious about gender stereotypes in the local, mostly conservative society
That's why I needed to concentrate on a specific story.
The small format I worked with helped me with that.
I also based the choice on the size of the luggage, I took the artworks back to Slovakia.
I considered working with this format a challenge because I used to work with a larger surface.
I used these large formats to show narrative scenes that included everything from pop culture to art history.
I carved these scenes once, then re-carved them once more
while adding more color details with pastels, oils, acryl, or silver patina paint.
Besides these woodcuts, the exhibition contains a purple carpet.
It covers the entire gallery floor and unites all of the artwork, both symbolically and literally.
There's a touch of wit and primordiality because I wanted to match the color with my first monograph published by Šopa.
I wanted to finish one stage of my life with the exhibition and the book.
I have experienced my most composed life stage so far.
A time when I felt like everything makes sense.
I calmed down and stopped thinking about various hypothetical situations.
I experienced the everyday life that I referenced, the one that Japanese woodcuts reference too.
I wanted to transfer this slowing of emotion to the visitors.
I did this by staging the exhibition, to eliminate any disturbing elements.
The carpet helped with this too, it feels like it suppresses the sounds of the old, creaking wooden floor.
It's more subtle, the visitors can slow down, stop, feel more at home, and mentally and physically blend with the art.
About the name of the exhibition - Kvitnúca čerešňa, neurčité oblaky (A blooming sakura, indefinite clouds).
I see the name as one of the answers to the question of what's the final meaning of life.
That the answer can also be stopping and calming down.
That the answer can be the view of a blooming tree and clouds in the sky.