View the online publication we released for the 20th anniversary of the painting competition Maľba.
1st place
Podhorský Rastislav
Carb empty
2015, acrylic and putty on styrodura, 200 x 125 cm
(*1990, Bratislava)
2009 – 2015, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava under the guidance of Associate Professor Kladia Kosziba and Professor Daniel Fischer. He lives and works in Bratislava.
The author became a finalist in the competition for the first time last year, when he was also included in the selection of "emerging artists" in 365 magazine. His work is unexpectedly concentrated and in many ways consistent in our environment. The fact that he does not belong to any of the "visual schools" adds to his personality, although the spiritual dimension of his training is obviously latent in his paintings, but not observed and learned, but his own and original. His paintings often appear (in the portfolio) as drawings, not in medium or material, but with a kind of spiritual subtlety. The entry in this year's final is such an image – although it is clear from the caption that it is a large-scale painting – the subject matter and its presentation are unexpectedly intimate and meditative. In this case, however, one more line is added, thanks to a certain principled "escherism" abounding with an unexpected humour of alienating effect. It is impossible not to quote the author when he claims that he tries to subjectively recreate the experience of reality by upsetting the mundane, using the punchline to problematize for the viewer the relationships between the elements used, all in the hope that he will succeed in preserving or even creating his own new beliefs in the work.
(The text is from the catalogue for the competition Painting 2015, A. Kusá)
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