Šimon Chyla Exhibits in Helsinki

• Opening: 29 October 2026, 5–7 pm
• Venue: Vapaakaupungin galleria, Helsinki
• Artists: Šimon Chyla, Leena Niivuori, Joni Niva / Jonishiva

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Šimon Chyla: Where the Present Goes

The exhibition presents works from the Half-Life of Extinction series. In it, I focus on the gradual disappearance of objects that until recently were a common part of our homes, but are now disappearing under the pressure of modernization and technological trends.
I reflect on this loss based on personal experience.

I am based on memories of the reconstruction of my own home, when an ordinary object – a radiator – first caught my interest. The key moment is the sudden absence of this object, which until then had completed the identity of the given space. I am not creating an exact copy of the radiator, but rather recording its presence just before it disappears from the space. The wooden radiator seems to be slowly disappearing before our eyes, in favor of underfloor heating, which unobtrusively replaces it.
In my case, the use of wood as a material is essential. The material I consistently work with once served as the main source of heat - today I use it more to show its gradual disappearance.

In my works, I emphasize that the objects that surround us every day are not only technical solutions, but also shape the character of the space and leave a mark on our memory. Nostalgia is strongly present in the work, from which I draw and through which I enter into an indirect dialogue with modernization.

In the cycle, which began in 2022, I work primarily with the material wood, which is closest to me, but bronze casting also appears in the cycle. The repeated return to the topic confirms that working with nostalgia and my own memory remains open and unexhausted for me as an author.

 

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Sculpture is Šimon’s most preferred medium in art. A three-dimensional object provides many images and forces the viewer to move, walk around the work, and only then examine it. In his sculptures, he emphasizes the quality of the material, its strength, permanence, and consistency. Parallel to the material, he requires a high level of professional craftsmanship, both as an artist and as a viewer.

In his work, he points out societal as well as personal problems, but he also thematically addresses nostalgia, memories, and their subsequent transformation/supplementation.
Formally, as a means of expression, he uses existing objects that he partially changes so that their original form is not completely suppressed, but always in a way that supports the idea he wants to materialize. He often utilizes absence in his works, whether of entire objects or their parts, to enhance the intended purpose. At the same time, he tries to bring a light, unobtrusive humor/wit into the works, which are very essential in his life and also characterize him as a person.

Sculpture, what it means to him, and the possibilities it provides, is the most natural way for him to express himself and is also a way to evoke in the viewer that feeling (or at least come close to it) that he feels. These objects express his thoughts and messages for him in the places where they are located, while he is completely elsewhere. It is a certain type of trace that he leaves behind in this world.

 

Šimons participation is supported by the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava.

 

Find more information on the Facebook event page.