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Making the international scene

A smart new show extends Hunt Kastner Artworks' mission
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By Lizzy Le Quesne
For The Prague Post
June 20th, 2007 issue

COURTESY IMAGE
There are echoes of Op Art in Šerých's deceptively simple blocks of black-and-white typography.
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COURTESY IMAGE
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Twice nominated for the national Chalupecký Award for artists under 35, Jan Šerých (born in 1972) is a significant figure in Czech contemporary art. His new solo exhibition “Take Me Home” at Hunt Kastner Artworks is characteristically smart and minimal.
In crisp white on black and black on white, Šerých created a series of elegant semi-abstract works by painstakingly painting oversize typography onto large-scale canvasses. The letters and numbers, outlined in neat typefaces with a retro flavor recalling the early computer age, seem to “mean something” in the ordinary way of language and also to function visually as a series of interlocking shapes.
There is a hint of Op Art’s buzzing brightness in the clean-cut geometric designs, and a certain oscillation in the content, which lies somewhere between word and image. Painted to a slickly smooth surface and oddly balanced — often symmetrical — the figures appear in abstraction as a series of tight corners, connections, pauses and interruptions that line up and slide around one another like magnets in opposition.
There is also an intriguing and uncertain relationship between the bold, logical simplicity of the paintings and the fragility or partial sense of the messages themselves. Considering the title of the show, they seem to be making an oblique appeal for recognition or acceptance. Sleek stylishness, light-hearted playfulness and loneliness coexist in this minimalist work.
The Šerých exhibition offers a strong, contrasting follow-up to the gallery’s previous show of hallucinogenic, digitally manipulated photography by Veronika Bromová. With a string of excellent exhibitions since its debut in December 2005, Hunt Kastner Artworks is a dynamic venture that is living up to its mission.
“Our aim is to present Czech artists on an international platform, give them exposure to new audiences and develop a market for their art,” says Kacha Kastner, the gallery’s Czech-American joint director. Along with presenting exhibitions, she and her colleague Camille Hunt offer advisory and logistical services to help buyers develop high-quality private collections of Czech art.
Hunt and Kastner represent a number of emerging and midcareer Czech artists working in a range of styles and media who have already attained some success. “Both of us have worked in the contemporary arts in Prague for many years, and have had the opportunity to get to know the artists over a longer period, watching their careers from their early student days,” Kastner says. “Artists are selected for the consistent quality, creativity and the development of their work.”
Regarding Šerých, she says: “We’ve been familiar with his work since he was student, known him personally for several years and have worked with him in the past on exhibitions and selling his work.”
So far this year, Hunt and Kastner have appeared at two notable international events, presenting their artists at ViennaFair in April and Liste07 at the prestigious Art Basel this month. (Liste is for galleries no more than 5 years old and artists under 40.)
“It’s crucial to participate in international art fairs, as the local art market is very small,” Hunt says. She notes that “Austrian contemporary artists were also not represented on an international stage until about 10 years ago. The turning point was when the Austrian Culture Ministry began financially supporting the participation of Austrian galleries at art fairs, etc. So we are very pleased that the Czech ministry is supporting our participation in Basel — which will hopefully go some way to putting Czech art on the map.”
Attending the big art fairs, Kastner says, “legitimizes us in a broader sense. Since selections for participation in prestigious art fairs are limited and made by a jury of international professionals, being selected is a thumbs-up from the international art world saying that they’re interested in what you are showing and the artists you represent.”
Yet Kastner is clear about where success ultimately lies: “The main thing that makes a gallery, first and foremost, is its artists and the quality of their work. The rest is just good organization.”

Lizzy Le Quesne can be reached at features@praguepost.com


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