ONDŘEJ BASJUK / THE CULT EXHIBITION

The first of two overview exhibitions assesses the collecting activities of the Fait Gallery, initiated by Igor Fait and systematically developed since 2012 in synergy with the chief curator Denisa Kujelová, who worked in the gallery until mid-2025.

Given the extensive nature of the collection which comprises over 1,000 items, and considering the multiple artistic approaches and the time span covered by the collection, which ranges from the pre-war avant-garde to contemporary art, it appeared natural to organise two consecutive shows.

In order to maintain a certain homogeneity in the exhibition, it was necessary to find a simple and universal key for selecting the artists and individual works. In most cases, this took the form of an abstract geometric-constructivist tendency which, with a few exceptions, involved pure minimalism, while in other cases it was softer abstraction with connotations of a reality-inspired starting point.

Part of the exhibition is devoted to the presentation of pre-war modernism, making up the core of the collection from the very beginning. It is the cubist tendency, evident in the works of Emil Filla and the more frequently represented Antonín Procházka, that forms a link with the mentioned geometric-abstract tendency which in many cases takes on a mathematical character in the works of artists active in the second half of the 20th century.

In connection with cubism, it is also necessary to mention that the exhibition includes several works related more to contemporary art which can be described as explicitly figurative, mediating a kind of neo-cubism and thus making an exception from the rule within the exhibition concept.

A confrontational aspect is supplied by the younger generation of artists fluidly incorporated into the exhibition. They function as a subtle refreshing and at the same time convey the message that the recycling of basic forms defined in the first half of the 20th century is still relevant, even though the artists' starting points are now quite different.

From the media perspective, the exhibition provides an overview of the segment of the collection that exclusively addresses traditional art forms such as painting, drawing, graphic art, objects, sculpture, assemblage, and various types of collage.

The overall aim of the exhibition is to present the part of the collection relating to the mentioned trends, to define and demonstrate formal and content-unifying elements among artists across the given time scope, and to set them in a mutual context.

Ondřej Kotrč

ONDŘEJ BASJUK / THE CULT EXHIBITION

15.01.2014 - 05.03.2014

Fait Gallery PREVIEW
Dominican Square 10, Brno
15/1 – 5/3/2014
Opening: 14/1/2014 at 6pm
Curator: Martin Nytra

Basjuk’s game with meanings, character of the depiction and formal methods is based on his own experience, but also on a thorough investigation and is greatly influenced by the aesthetics coming from the illustrations in adventure literature, boys novels and travel books, as well as by the legacy and the morphology of modernism and
the early avant-garde, which are for contemporary art practise appealing and actual again for many reasons. These appropriations, which he approaches consciously and carefully, are mixed with reality and collector items often of East Asian and Buddhist origin. By this a certain aesthetic model is created, which evokes topics that are both esoteric and of an occult nature as well as displaying the idea of an interest in the exotic and so called primitive cultures, which is typical for modern western society. These cultures represent the ideal of the escape and insight into the nature of things, as well as just contemporary fashion. However, as the name of the exhibition, as well
as the work of Ondřej Basjuk, suggest, the project of romantic return or escape is an ideal, it’s perception constantly oscillates between the importance, sincere need, pathos, facileness and sarcastic irony that mocks it’s own lack of freedom, therefore destroying all the myths which arose from the desire of the spirit. It can easily happen that only grimace is created by this, as contemporary trends and affectiation, which depends on our assessment of the importance of autonomy, relation to objectivity, or the definition of true nature.

Martin Nytra

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