After Hours: Phase 2 / Artists from Slovakia

Individual Stories is the second part of a three-phase international art exhibition organized by Dalibor Polivka, Viktor Hulik and Rob Mintz showing eighteen avant-garde Slovakian artists at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in July 2010.

For this exhibit OCCCA is proud to host Galeria Z from Bratislava, Slovakia. In September 2010 OCCCA will send a group show to Slovakia called After Hours.

Contemporary art exists in a kaleidoscopic space of exchange, a shared world with many time zones. To build the first truly global culture artists must work together to promote, assist and inspire each other.

This project was made possible with generous support from the Ministry of Culture SK, U.S. Embassy in Bratislava, the Slovak Embassy in Los Angeles and the Slovak-American Center.

Individual Stories

To explore the current moment of the Slovak art scene, Individual Stories presents artists from different generations each with an individual creative identity. Mária Balážová uses symbols, Ašot Haas changing illusions of light, Oleg Fintora transparency, and Viktor Hulík rational investigation of space and movement. Xenia Berger employs multiple layers of expressive colors, Igor Minárik detailed mosaic compositions, Marian Meško classic minimalism, Marian Mudroch extremes of light and dark, Ingrid Višňovsk additions of script, all exploring the possibilities of geometric abstraction, the color spectrum and the fundamentals of vision.

Vojto Kolenčík translates literature into painterly gestures. Blažej Baláž’s post-conceptualism centers on text. Vlado Popovič is influenced by his experiences in photography, film and theatre. Marko Blažo comments on current events in multi-media installations. Sveťo Ilavský’s paintings break through art’s conventions to attain great thematic complexity. Ján Hoffstädter’s objects engage the viewer in a sophisticated three-dimensional dialogue. Martin Lettrich sensually redefines space. Milota Havránková uses photography to depict her inner world, an intimate private domain. This rich variety of aesthetic theory and practice is anchored in the Slovak environment but resonates far beyond geographic borders. These artists are linked to us across obsolete frontiers by the internet, increased travel, international art fairs, and the desires of collectors. OCCCA is excited to introduce this roster of exotic names that roll off the tongue like poetry, wishing each of them the best of luck pursuing new exhibition opportunities in America.

Xénia Bergerová, Vladimír Popovič, Marián Meško, Marian Mudroch, Igor Minárik, Milota Havránková, Vojtech Kolenčík, Marek Ormandík, Mária Balážová, Blažej Baláž, Svetozár Ilavský, Marko Blažo, Ašot Haas, Ján Hoffstädter, Martin Lettrich, Ingrid Višňovská, Oleg Fintora, Viktor Hulík

Curated by Xénia Lettrichová and Viktor Hulík

After Hours: Phase 2 /Artists from Slovakia
Kurator: Xenia Lettrichova

Künstler: Blazej Balaz, Maria Balazova, Xenia Bergerova, Marko Blazo, Oleg Fintora, Asot Haas, Milota Havrankova, Jan Hoffstädter, Viktor Hulik, Svätozar Ilavsky, Vojtech Kolencik, Martin Lettrich, Marian Mesko, Igor Minarik, Marian Mudroch, Marek Ormandik, Vladimir Popovic, Ingrid Visnovska