Needle & Balloon

APART collective, Radek Brousil, András Cséfalvay, Andrej Dúbravský, Ádám Horváth, Šimon Chovan, Yein Lee, Kristián Németh, Céline Struger, Adam Vačkář

Curated by Michal Stolárik


At Synagogue – Center of Contemporary Art, Trnava, Slovakia
Presented by Galéria Jána Koniarka

May 13 — July 31, 2022

Photography by Adam Šakový

The current ecological and political situation or state of society, marked by the context of recent period of at least two years, make contemplations on fragility more pressing than ever. Such slogans as stability, value, and guarantee have lost their meaning. After all, the impossible and unimaginable seems to be possible and real.

The international exhibition Needle & Balloon is a response to the issue of fragility and related feeling of borderline tension. It follows central motifs in the context of contemporary visual arts, emerging on the background of deliberations on economic systems, the alarming ecological situation, the state of our planet, and the impact of today’s decisions on our potential future. The curator’s project focuses on a new-age emotionality and inner feelings, following inclinations towards personal mythology and renewed ideas of romanticism. The exhibition goes hand in hand with the feelings of anxiety, melancholy, and sadness, and intriguing aspects of fiction, mysticism, unsettled reality, and a dystopian and post-apocalyptic atmosphere.
 


The group exhibition, anchored in the space, history, and the atmosphere of the Trnava Synagogue, is a selection of young and mid generation artists from Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Austria. Connected to the topic of fragility in multiple layers, the multimedia selection naturally shifts from painting to sculptures, installations, and videos. The narratives of selected artworks, underlining transience of human life, and existence as such form a central motif of the project. The chosen artworks speak about natural evolution, the end of the world or, alternatively, an impossible and unnatural effort to stop time and preserve the present. The strong symbolism of motifs and materials used underscores the lyrical facet of the display of works, complemented by their formal aspects, with suggestive use of materials, their stability, durability, and visual representation. Although the project does not offer a direct reaction to the history associated with the Jewish culture, or unrelenting echoes of global pandemics and wars, their presence remains to a subconscious memento, a warning finger of the exhibition itself.

— Michal Stolárik

 

Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
András Cséfalvay – Model for Extinction Survival: Take to the Sky, 2020, installation, 3D print, video, 7:15 min, Variable dimensions
András Cséfalvay – Model for Extinction Survival: Take to the Sky, 2020, installation, 3D print, video, 7:15 min, Variable dimensions
András Cséfalvay – Model for Extinction Survival: Take to the Sky, 2020, installation, 3D print, video, 7:15 min, Variable dimensions
András Cséfalvay – Model for Extinction Survival: Take to the Sky, 2020, installation, 3D print, video, 7:15 min, Variable dimensions
András Cséfalvay – Model for Extinction Survival: Take to the Sky, 2020, installation, 3D print, video, 7:15 min, Variable dimensions
Adam Vačkář
Adam Vačkář – Me as a Demon, 2020, wood, aluminium, 75 x 30 x 35 cm
Adam Vačkář – Me as a Demon, 2020, wood, aluminium, 75 x 30 x 35 cm
Adam Vačkář – Me as a Demon, 2020, wood, aluminium, 75 x 30 x 35 cm
Adam Vačkář – Swamp Crow Rig, 2020, wood, steel, aluminium, 160 x 45 cm
Adam Vačkář – Swamp Crow Rig, 2020, wood, steel, aluminium, 160 x 45 cm
Adam Vačkář – Stolen Moments from the Deep Forest, 2020, wood, aluminium, 175 x 40 x 30 cm
Adam Vačkář – Stolen Moments from the Deep Forest, 2020, wood, aluminium, 175 x 40 x 30 cm
Adam Vačkář
Adam Vačkář – Veins of Linear Dependence, 2020, wood, bronze, 54 x 32 x 17 cm
Adam Vačkář – Veins of Linear Dependence, 2020, wood, bronze, 54 x 32 x 17 cm
Adam Vačkář – Veins of Linear Dependence, 2020, wood, bronze, 54 x 32 x 17 cm
xhibition view Kristian Nemeth Yein Lee
Yein Lee – Rejuvenate Body Order Now, 2021 – 2022, 3D print, epoxide binder, wire, computer spare-parts, sheet metal, steel, Variable dimensions
Yein Lee – Rejuvenate Body Order Now, 2021 – 2022, 3D print, epoxide binder, wire, computer spare-parts, sheet metal, steel, Variable dimensions
Yein Lee – Rejuvenate Body Order Now, 2021 – 2022, 3D print, epoxide binder, wire, computer spare-parts, sheet metal, steel, Variable dimensions
Yein Lee – Rejuvenate Body Order Now, 2021 – 2022, 3D print, epoxide binder, wire, computer spare-parts, sheet metal, steel, Variable dimensions
Yein Lee – Rejuvenate Body Order Now, 2021 – 2022, 3D print, epoxide binder, wire, computer spare-parts, sheet metal, steel, Variable dimensions
Yein Lee – Rejuvenate Body Order Now, 2021 – 2022, 3D print, epoxide binder, wire, computer spare-parts, sheet metal, steel, Variable dimensions
Exhibition view
Radek Brousil – Can You Still Feel The Butterflies?, 2021, HD video, 13:17 min.
Radek Brousil – Can You Still Feel The Butterflies?, 2021, HD video, 13:17 min.
Exhibition View
APART collective – The Most Beautiful Catastrophe, 2018, HD video, 28 min.
APART collective – The Most Beautiful Catastrophe, 2018, HD video, 28 min.
Exhibition view
Andrej Dúbravský – Only one in hundred, 2022, Acrylic on canvas , 200 x 250 cm
Andrej Dúbravský – Only one in hundred, 2022, Acrylic on canvas , 200 x 250 cm
Andrej Dúbravský – Only one in hundred, 2022, Acrylic on canvas , 200 x 250 cm
Exhibition View
Céline Struger – Good Bye Horses, 2021 – 2022, Various materials, Variable dimensions
Céline Struger – Good Bye Horses, 2021 – 2022, Various materials, Variable dimensions
Céline Struger – Good Bye Horses, 2021 – 2022, Various materials, Variable dimensions
Céline Struger – Good Bye Horses, 2021 – 2022, Various materials, Variable dimensions
Céline Struger – Good Bye Horses, 2021 – 2022, Various materials, Variable dimensions
Exhibition View
Kristián Németh – Monument of Possible Fall, 2019, Polystyrene, 50 x 660 cm
Kristián Németh – Monument of Possible Fall, 2019, Polystyrene, 50 x 660 cm
Kristián Németh – Monument of Possible Fall, 2019, Polystyrene, 50 x 660 cm
Ádám Horváth – Fragile symbiosis between hollow bones, 2021, Wood, metal chain, extruded hardened polystyrene, cement, acrylic, polish, silicone, straw, leaves, cotton thread, plastic ivy leaves, metal lock, 100 x 115 x 75 cm
Ádám Horváth – Fragile symbiosis between hollow bones, 2021, Wood, metal chain, extruded hardened polystyrene, cement, acrylic, polish, silicone, straw, leaves, cotton thread, plastic ivy leaves, metal lock, 100 x 115 x 75 cm
Ádám Horváth – Fragile symbiosis between hollow bones, 2021, Wood, metal chain, extruded hardened polystyrene, cement, acrylic, polish, silicone, straw, leaves, cotton thread, plastic ivy leaves, metal lock, 100 x 115 x 75 cm
Ádám Horváth – Fragile symbiosis between hollow bones, 2021, Wood, metal chain, extruded hardened polystyrene, cement, acrylic, polish, silicone, straw, leaves, cotton thread, plastic ivy leaves, metal lock, 100 x 115 x 75 cm
Ádám Horváth – Moon dancer, 2021, wood, extruded hardened polystyrene, cement, acrylic, polish, silicone, cotton thread, cotton fabric, fresh-water mussels, 115 x 125 cm
Ádám Horváth – Moon dancer, 2021, wood, extruded hardened polystyrene, cement, acrylic, polish, silicone, cotton thread, cotton fabric, fresh-water mussels, 115 x 125 cm
Ádám Horváth – Moon dancer, 2021, wood, extruded hardened polystyrene, cement, acrylic, polish, silicone, cotton thread, cotton fabric, fresh-water mussels, 115 x 125 cm
Exhibition view
Radek Brousil – Standing, Holding a Waterlily, 2019, installation, variable dimensions
Radek Brousil – Standing, Holding a Waterlily, 2019, installation, variable dimensions
Radek Brousil – Standing, Holding a Waterlily, 2019, installation, variable dimensions
Radek Brousil – Standing, Holding a Waterlily, 2019, installation, variable dimensions
Radek Brousil – Standing, Holding a Waterlily, 2019, installation, variable dimensions
Radek Brousil – Standing, Holding a Waterlily, 2019, installation, variable dimensions
Radek Brousil – Standing, Holding a Waterlily, 2019, installation, variable dimensions
Šimon Chovan – Dear Thearlings, 2019 – 2022, Silicone, soil, plaster, stones, concrete, nails, rust, dust, Variable dimensions
Šimon Chovan – Dear Thearlings, 2019 – 2022, Silicone, soil, plaster, stones, concrete, nails, rust, dust, Variable dimensions
Šimon Chovan – Dear Thearlings, 2019 – 2022, Silicone, soil, plaster, stones, concrete, nails, rust, dust, Variable dimensions
Šimon Chovan – Dear Thearlings, 2019 – 2022, Silicone, soil, plaster, stones, concrete, nails, rust, dust, Variable dimensions
Šimon Chovan – Dear Thearlings, 2019 – 2022, Silicone, soil, plaster, stones, concrete, nails, rust, dust, Variable dimensions
Šimon Chovan – Dear Thearlings, 2019 – 2022, Silicone, soil, plaster, stones, concrete, nails, rust, dust, Variable dimensions
Šimon Chovan – Dear Thearlings, 2019 – 2022, Silicone, soil, plaster, stones, concrete, nails, rust, dust, Variable dimensions

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