The Dove Nation
The exhibition presents works by Slovak artists, including students and graduates of the Studio of Intermedia, the Studio of Free Sculpture, and the Studio 3EAM. The exhibition is curated by Lucia Gavulová from the Studio of Visual–Verbal–Public (VVV).
Liptov Gallery of P. M. Bohúň in Liptovský Mikuláš
Curator: Lucia Gavulová
Exhibiting artists:
Juraj Anušev, Peter Bartoš, Roman Bicek, Petra Feriancová, Matej Gavula, Martin Kleibl, Karol Lacko, Michaela Prablesková, Milan Pulík, Oksana Sadovenko
Pigeons — wild urban birds that are genetically predisposed to live near those who once domesticated them, later ceased to need them, and now would prefer to drive them out of cities — hold up an unflattering mirror to society. They urgently recall issues such as exile, migration, homelessness, ecology, urbanism, the climate crisis, and the sustainability of city life. Their various representations increasingly appear in today’s visual culture within critical narratives — for instance, in the new visual identity of the Museum of London (from 2024), the monumental sculpture Dinosaur (2025)by Colombian artist Iván Argote on the New York City High Line (directed and curated by Cecilia Alemani, curator of the 2022 Venice Biennale), or in fashion design (such as JW Anderson’s Pigeon Clutch, Fall/Winter 2022 collection).
In Slovakia, however, the symbol of the dove carries additional connotations.
In the countries of the socialist bloc, the white dove enhanced ideological imagery as a symbol of peace (the dove as a sign of new life originates in the Old Testament; as a peace symbol, it was first used by French writer Louis Aragon for Picasso’s lithograph for the International Peace Congress in Paris, 1949). It appeared in public spaces, architecture, and design.
Equally important in relation to this exhibition is the analogy first expressed by Ján Kollár, a 19th-century Slovak priest, politician, ideologue, and writer:
“We are a dove-like nation.”
Although Slovaks have repeatedly risen up and taken action — even with arms, when necessary (as did the Štúrovci, with Ľudovít Štúr, leader of the Slovak National Revival, himself doubting the “dove-like nature” of his nation; Czechoslovak Legionnaires during and after World War I; and anti-fascist fighters during the Slovak National Uprising) — between these awakenings, they often allowed themselves to be ruled by others. Unfortunately, the present day is not far removed from such a condition.
The exhibition features works by ten Slovak artists representing a wide range of generations, each engaging with the motif of the dove in different contexts and meanings. The interpretation of each work is left to the audience; however, the curatorial intent was to bring together, within the possibilities and limits of the gallery space, a selection of contemporary visual artworks depicting the dove in its many forms.
The audience is thus invited both to immerse themselves in the universality of the theme and to reflect not only on their relationship to ecology, but also on the multitude of symbols the dove carries — both in global and local contexts.
In the latter, especially in light of its historically charged question:
Are we, or are we not, a dove-like nation?
— Lucia Gavulová
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