Within The Process

The visitors of his exhibition in the Kvalitář Gallery might have the last chance to see Michal Škoda’s paintings. In 2010, the author decided to abandon classical painting and focus mainly on drawing, author’s books, and specific installations prepared directly for a particular space. The paintings on MDF boards, which will be exhibited at his, to some extent, retrospective exhibition entitled Within the Process, were completed in 2005 – 2009.

Michal Škoda’s works, presented at this exhibition, draw inspiration from the urban environment and architecture. For a long time, he has been interested mainly in the human being and their place, and the perception of the space in its comprehensiveness. In this period, the key moment consists in reducing the image, providing a possibility of deeper reflection without any literary deposits. He attempts to search for the positive void. “We have been captivated by images, the environment oversaturated with information, often deceitful and stupid, a kind of an urban jungle, a mixture of advertisements and self-styled clever slogans,” he comments his feelings from the period when he focused on painting.

What is equally important is depicting the relationships emerging in the space among the structures, objects, and us as well. Grey, black and white, simplicity and order – these are the characteristic traits of Michal Škoda’s work at first sight. However, this option is not an end in itself. The author has selected it as a deliberate counterpoint of the colourful and chaotic glut of attributes typical of the environment of the materialistic and consumer society which he criticises. The geometric abstraction itself is not an objective but rather a means of expression which the author attempts in his work. He does not make efforts to represent reality as seen by others but rather integrate a real architectural environment in his intimate ideas. This leads to austere pictures referring to his pure perception of the world around him.

The exhibition Within the Process at the Kvalitář Gallery is important not only as an imaginary full stop after a certain period in the artist’s life but also as the first opportunity to see these paintings in Prague.

Michal Škoda (* 1962, Tábor)
His work has so far been presented in numerous domestic and foreign galleries and museums in the context of solo and group exhibitions, while being represented in many private and public collections. Since 1997, he has also worked as the chief curator of the House of Art České Budějovice.