East Contemporary

Slovak National Gallery: “Impermanent Exhibition” + Jan Zelinka “Intervention”

Bratislava, November 2, 2016 – May 21, 2017, http://www.sng.sk

The space was dark, the exhibition design was fresh and contemporary. The combination of gothic to baroque religious paintings and sculptures with Zelinka’s dead animal sculptures was special. It made Zelinka steal the show. The contemplative approach to looking at religious paintings was somehow disturbed by the corpse of a cat, squirrel or snake in a lead sarcophagus lying beside it.  I appreciated the freedom of movement in the show. Paintings were hung freely in space, without any protective glass or barriers. Same went for Zelinka’s sculptures which lied unceremoniously on the parquet floor.

Overall, the attractiveness on the show lied in its theatrical setup: dark space, spot lights, as well as the combination of old and new.

Comments are closed.