OPENING RECEPTION
18. 09. 2015 / 6 - 9 pm
EXHIBITIONS DATES
15. 09. 2015 - 12. 11. 2015
ABOUT THE SHOW
The turn towards observation and mysterious voyeurism in the works of Jan Durina comes after a previous preoccupation with directed photography. Connections between observed reality, substantiality of the moment, personal experience with the photographed persona and the desire to portray mutual relationships simultaneously links us to nature sleeping trees, force of the wind and the energy of the water.
The figures are not just mere human bodies with strong visual energy, they are interconnected by relations and experience genuine individuals. This connection of intimacy, the exposed human body and poetry of needs, which are spoken of in the works of Jan Durina with implicit frankness, almost lightness, happens on three formal levels.
The first one is, lets say, classic photography - Studies, from which the name of the exhibition originates. We encounter real people in situations which invoke dual interpretation in the viewers mind allusion to nature and at the same time parts of nature with apparent erotic denotation a tree branch as a bondage or dead leaves scattered on a male body, visually materialising post-coital disposition. The moment of peeking behind the curtain or through a keyhole becomes the neurological point of almost every piece of Durinas work.
The following part deepens the themes of the previous one, in an even darker nocturnal series. Micro worlds of ideas and intimate compositions work with themes such as desire or love. At the same time, just like a red thread, the leitmotiv of what happens behind the door, either ajar or closed, intertwines herein.
The third part works with themes of intimacy also on the formal level. Very subtle technique of Polaroid photography enables the artist to capture his subjects in a more blurry atmosphere, which leads the viewer to a more personal contact with the piece of art. These delicate works are hence intended for only one viewer at a time. Their meditative and also romantic charge is connected to their monochromatic hue. Their brownish shade can refer to the soil, which becomes the iconographic sign of Durinas outdoor photography.
(c) Petr Hosek, 2015
