Jiri Kovanda "Two Cushions" Solo Exhibition

The becoming of disaster as aesthetics—this is the romantic sentiment of art. Jiri Kovanda's solo exhibition "Two Cushions" was on display at Gd agency gallery from March 15 to May 17, 2008. Born in 1953 in Czechia, Jiri Kovanda is one of the most famous conceptual artists in Eastern Europe and arguably the most poetic among current Paris exhibitions. Spanning performance attitude, acting, painting, and contemporary installation, he masters multiple media, sensitively transforming them into social, historical, and formal artistic situations, creating a unique tension within these expressive and experimental worlds. The artist states: "I do not know because I am self-taught; I never admit to being a painter, making objects or collages, or a conceptual artist. Rather, I prefer to say I am someone who contrasts everything... I hope art benefits not only the artist but also those who encounter it. An artist can never be prepared; rather, under certain circumstances, he attempts."

In this new solo exhibition "Two Cushions," Jiri Kovanda shapes the situation according to the gallery space, using readily available everyday objects to create keen and poetic scenes where different objects permeate each other, constructing narratives within literary and conceptual settings: two soft pillows nailed to the wall with small iron nails, under the charter of painting-object. Most perplexing is a work featuring a tree branch resting on two pieces of chewing gum, creating a unique landscape and extraordinary poetry. Additionally, a long train track crosses the partition wall, with a series of trains at the end falling onto pillows on the ground, clearly depicting an unprecedented train disaster, yet the aesthetics of disaster constructs an extraordinary poem. The entire body of work exists in this fragile balance, creating a contemplative and unexpectedly poetic atmosphere.