Artissima 2019
Main Section, Hall Pink B, Booth 22
Krištof Kintera | z2o Sara Zanin Gallery – Main Section, Hall Pink B, Booth 22
Artissima Turin, October 31st – November 3rd, 2019
In my latest practice I was focusing on creating forms which are somehow related to architectural consequences. Something small, casual, is taken from its original purpose and starts to stand for something completely different. Grouping these objects in metaphorical forms works as an amplification. I find this simple trick almost magic. This effort has a result in the presented sculptures and drawings.
Tower of Progress rises from similar energy as every tall building in any downtown. It is a power of growth which is pushing things to rise vertically. In large (real) scale it is motivated by the power of money, investments and manifestation of success. My small tower is finding inspiration in this architectural growth and in a way is imitating complexity of real scale architecture but creates its own original paraphrase. As deliberately opposed to the real skyscraper it has no reason, no function, it is just a symbol, totem or mound. It is created in neo-post-industrial-home-gothic style. Perhaps it does not look like, but it was very precisely designed taking every detail into consideration.
I like in a way to use primitive and very usual materials, like fluorescent bulbs in order to articulate something spiritual.
That took me to build Memorial of Passed Light. All the tubes have been giving light somewhere, their mission is over, sentenced to be recycled, but they still have undestroyable symbolism in their existence and that is quite strong: to give light. This seemingly fragile structure shall be a celebration of a need and necessity of light for life. Form is reminding us of a kind of elementary architecture of growing matter, Babylon Tower, Tatlin's Tower, skyscrapers of the world's metropolises, gothic cathedrals…All those references and similarities are pretty obvious and are referring to aspects of natural rise, but also need to touch the heights, if not by material structure than at least by thoughts. The brands of well-known electronic companies are left visibly and ironically to symbolize the profane core of trading with light.
In the City of Lost Connection, I was working with rudimental principles to create architecture. I mean the most elementary architecture which does not necessarily have to be created by humans, but by any kind of living creatures (bees, birds, worms). I am impressed by spontaneous solutions of such a kind of dwellings. This piece is also having little post-apocalyptic tint, let’s say beauty of decadence. An interesting moment is that the basic elements are modems from taxi cars of one bankrupted Prague taxi-service.
Krištof Kintera (Prague, 1973), lives and works in Prague.
Amongst his recent solo shows: No One has Nothing, z2o Sara Zanin Gallery, Rome, Italy (2019), Do Not Litter, Do not Feed Birds and Do Not Push the Help Button Yet, Czech Centre NY, USA (2018); Naturally Postnatural, Ron Mandos Gallery, Amsterdam (2018); We all want to be cleaned, Gong, Ostrava, Czech Rep. (2018); Nervous Trees, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague (2017); Postnaturalia, Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy (2017), Systémy bez ducha, galerie Kaple, Valašské Meziříčí (2016), Natural Nervosity, Kunsthalle LAB, Bratislava, Slovacchia (2016), May Be It Is Here, Ron Mandos Gallery, Amsterdam (2015), Your Light is My Life, Kunsthal Rotterdam (2015).
Amongst his recent group shows: Cool Breeze, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic (2019), Rehang, Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy (2019), You Got to Burn to Shine, La Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Roma (2019); Dimensions of Dialog, National Gallery, Salm Palace, Prague, Czech Rep (2018); Eco Visionaries – Art and Architecture after Anthropocene, Lisbon, Portugal (2018); Hidden Beauty, z2o Sara Zanin Gallery, Roma (2018); New Black Romanticism, Muzeul National de Arta al Romaniei, Bucarest, Romania + Kunstlerhause Bethanien, Berlin (2017); Not Really Really, Frederic de Goldschmidt Collection, Bruxelles, Belgium (2016), GOLEM, Jewish Museum Berlin, Germany (2016), Wer Nicht Denken Will, Fliegt Raus, Museum Kurkaus Kleve, Kleve, Germany (2016), All Hail Sport!, DOX, Prague (2016), Magie und Macht, Marta Herford, Herford, Germany (2016), Prosopopeés, Cent Quatre, Parigi, Francia (2015), Balagan!, Momentum, Berlin, Germany (2015), Industriale Immaginario, Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy (2015).
His work is in several prestigious public and private collections, amongst the other: Maramotti Collection, Barbierato Collection, Boghossian Foundation, Rosenblum Collection & Friends, Jerry Speyer Collection, Rubell Family Collection, Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University, Boston.