Dušan Zahoranský: The Aesthetics of Hope

Room 277, Drotárska cesta 44, AFAD, Bratislava

Annotation:

“THE AESTHETICS OF HOPE: In this lecture, I will outline how visual language can embody the idea of coexistence based on empathy, solidarity, and inclusiveness. I will return to the starting points of my practice. I draw from conceptual art—both Eastern European and Western European. During my studies at AFAD, I also became familiar with the language of sculpture and worked with photography and moving image. After works that were media-complex and sometimes overcomplicated, I gradually moved more and more toward a reduced use of sign, language, and sometimes humour. Along this path, I was inspired and influenced by many women artists and artists, as well as by literary figures and women writers. In this presentation, I will try to describe a cultural field of reference that I consider authentically Eastern European, in which positive qualities such as humour, perspective, and care for one’s surroundings can be discerned.” Dušan Zahoranský

Bio:

Dušan Zahoranský (1972) was born in Havířov, grew up and studied in Slovakia. Since 2002, he has been creating and working in the Czech Republic—in Prague. He sees himself as an intermedia artist, educator, and curator. He has received several scholarships and has worked in Great Britain, Ireland, France, Austria, and Germany. His works have been presented in group and solo exhibitions, for example at Künstlerhaus Vienna, in a joint project at the Venice Biennale, at the National Gallery in Bratislava and in Prague, at Fait Gallery Brno, and at Galerie Rudolfinum. In his current practice, he explores the non-commodifiable sharing of knowledge. He reflects on how an individual or cultural institutions can positively transform their surroundings through small steps. 

www.dusanzahoransky.com