Jaromír Novotný / As seen in their natural environment

While loosely following in the wake of the previous exhibition, the second part of this overview of the Fait Gallery collection represents, in a certain sense, its opposite. In contrast to the previous instalment, which primarily represented abstract art from the second half of the 20th century, with a focus on geometry and structure, Czech modernism and its resonance and evident influences in contemporary Czech painting, this exhibition directs its attention towards art that places greater emphasis on depicting the real world. Contradicting the artists working in the spirit of geometric abstraction, presenting more universal subject matter, these works are inspired by reality, depicting it more or less explicitly while bringing to the forefront an appreciation of the human figure and its depiction.

It is precisely this fascination with the human body and physicality, manifested either directly or metaphorically through fragments, tools, and situations inextricably intertwined with it, that forms the framework of the exhibition. As such, the exhibition features a number of works reflecting themes such as sport, while at the same time exploring a certain existential decadence as well as aspects of humour within the context of this fascination with the human condition.

Chronologically, we loosely move on to works created predominantly after the year 2000, which is also evidenced by the wider representation of the medium of installation, an example of which is the large-scale work Deep in Enemy Territory by the Rafani Group, one of the group's most extensive projects. The installation fulfils an integral part of the exhibition and, as was already mentioned, comments on a complex psychological situation through the relationship between visual art and the symbolism of sport.

The exhibition follows a predefined selective framework, yet it does not aspire to present an indisputable message regarding a specific issue or topic, a fact that is understandable given its nature. It does, however, seek to showcase the fruits of Fait Gallery and Igor Fait's extensive collecting activities over the past 15 years, to present a series of high-quality works by both Czech and foreign artists, to allow them to come into their own in their individuality and, at the same time, to present the sphere in which these individualities coexist and support each other within a compact whole.

Ondřej Kotrč

Represented artists:

Vasil Artamonov & Alexej Klyuykov, Alžběta Bačíková, Ondřej Basjuk, Nina Beier, Marie Blabolilová, Josef Bolf, Radek Brousil, Jan Brož, Michel Comte, Milena Dopitová, Markéta Filipová, Jiří Franta & David Böhm, Jan Gemrot, Martin Gerboc, Michal Gogora, Damien Hirst, Katarína Hládeková & Ondřej Homola, Katarína Hládeková & Jiří Kovanda, Jakub Hošek, František Hudeček, Matyáš Chochola, Krištof Kintera, Eva Kmentová, Vendula Knopová, Vladimír Kokolia, Jiří Kolář, Eva Koťátková, Ondřej Kotrč, Alena Kotzmannová, Denisa Krausová, Nika Kupyrova, Alicja Kwade, Martin Lukáč, Kamila Maliňáková, Pavla Malinová, Pavel Matyska, Marek Meduna, Jan Merta, Svätopluk Mikyta, Kamila Musilová, Jan Nálevka & Václav Stratil, Pavla Naďová, Petr Nikl, Michal Pěchouček, Ivan Pinkava, Jan Poupě, Skupina Rafani, Tomáš Roubal, Lucia Sceranková, Pavla Sceranková, František Skála, Matěj Smetana, Václav Stratil, Tomáš Svoboda, Robert Šalanda, Adriena Šimotová, Jiří Topínka, Lubomír Typlt, unconductive trash, Kateřina Vincourová, Lenka Vítková

The exhibition Selection from the Fait Gallery Collection II is a sales exhibition and is the last exhibition of Fait Gallery in its current space at Ve Vaňkovce 2.

Jaromír Novotný / As seen in their natural environment

23.10.2024 - 20.12.2024

Fait Gallery MEM, Ve Vaňkovce 2, Brno

Curators: Denisa Bytelová and Sráč Sam

Opening: 23rd October, 7 pm

Rest and movement are relative states. They have their own meaning, incomprehensible and invisible to the viewer, and so we attempt all the more to relate to a mystical interpretation of Jaromír’s work. The initial moment is alluring and entices us to follow it, to develop our reflections on spiritual urgency, but let us pause and pay attention to his uncommon organization, which aims to neither teach us nor force a sense of order upon us. Jaromír inflicts irreparable damage on his paintings. He recognizes his domain and, with a thorough knowledge of the material, decides on its future. This time, he remains intrinsically bound to both aforementioned factors. Rest and movement.

From this perspective, all that is physical is free. Nevertheless, the question raised by the sight of the attached, sewn-on, and sometimes scarred parts of the painting, a question we must inevitably address, is this: As we gaze at the fixed, needle-pierced canvas, how long can we keep from thinking of injuries and how much attention does our automatic mind pay to the idea of abandoning well-trodden paths? For our mind flows; it does not wait for permission but draws on personal experience.

JaromírNovotný merely records this fact without letting himself be unsettled by it. Any slight irritation is allowed to thoroughly dissolve in waiting. He proceeds according to his acquired awareness. Everything plays out with precision, through concentrated work – not, however, as an effort with an expected outcome, but rather by adopting his own physical and spiritual trajectories. He permits himself to exist in a limited, self-determining space. In this way, he becomes inseparable from thinking about contemporary art. His belonging is not established by acceptance. Perhaps things are irreversible and fluid, but for a certain amount of time we can still use specific actions to halt the dependence of temporal forms. In the case of Novotný’s paintings, our dependence on the physical material – from which we turn away even as we cling to it – tries to guide us past ourselves toward precise thinking. To guide us toward a slow reading inclined to performance. Epic dramas must be allowed to fall silent so that our cyclical thinking can achieve the same amazement from a painting.

How little yellow is still acceptable? When is a blue thread understood as an object, and at what distance do we begin to feel unsure whether we are looking through gessoed transparent polyester at a painting’s innards? On the one hand we have the processes of entropic change, and against this inevitability we can experience the painting’s subject, processed and managed in such a way as to show us only ourselves. By its rigid visual representation, it steers us toward the perception of movement as time, toward a number of personified changes resulting from interactions with our immediate surroundings. In a painting, everything that until a certain moment showed no signs of significance moves toward the greatest possible emphasis. The outward power of the ordinary is removed and incorporated into the painting. The sequence of changes shows us where the past lies. We want to and are drawn to Jaromír’s paintings precisely because of the unexpected contradiction of things, a contradiction that brings with it the possibility of revisiting our initial reflections on time and routine. It invites us to reevaluate our biases. Through conscious deliberation and waiting, it performs much visible work.

It is generally assumed that exhibitions allow for a greater control of reflections, but the very decision to engage in such considerations is more a profligate waste of thoughts than frugal moderation. Nothing is simple this time, for we will have to abandon the habit of anticipated events.

Sráč Sam

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