10 December 2008 – 8 March 2009

JIRI KOVANDA

Jiri Kovanda (Prague, Czech Republic, 1953) emerged in the 1970s as a notable artist working in the field of Czech performative practices, with a series of pieces (described generically by the artist as "actions"), which sought to escape from both the viewer and the didactic. His actions were minimal, almost imperceptible, and were carried out in public spaces such as streets or parks, very close to the day to day, and documented in a very simple way, by means of small black and white photographs. In the same way, his collages and constructive compositions, produced in the 1980s, emerged as the result of a spontaneity and an economy of resources which situate them in contraposition to the rhetoric and redundancy which pollutes some of the current pieces we are used to finding at art fairs and biennials. This is the basis on which is founded a series of works characterised by the absence of pretension and the presence of an austere rigour. The work of this Czech artist is very direct, but, as a result of this, it is rendered very visually powerful, thanks to its use of simplicity and direct communication.

The uniqueness of his work was, in a way, the reason why his work was never very well known, but it is now causing him to find his way in the art system, particularly after his work for Documenta XI. By means of his performances, collages, paintings, ready-mades, installations and works made with found objects, the artist builds pieces drenched in intimacy, humour and even irony, defying many of the conventions of the most admired contemporary art. Far from any sense of snobbery, his work seems to take us back to the genuine, and even romantic, freshness of an artist who is committed to freedom. This does not mean that his work does not display some elements and formal aspects which bear a strong relation to conceptual art (which was deeply rooted in Eastern European countries), but they are dealt with in a very unusual way.

Address

CGAC
c/ Valle Inclán s/n
15704 Santiago de Compostela
phone +34 81 54 66 29
http://www.cgac.org/

Opening Hours

Tuesday - Saturday
11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Sunday
11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Closed on Monday

Within 10 days
starting exhibitions
ending exhibitions