Subtropical climate

The new project by Pavel Příkaský (1985) is closely related to the original purpose of the premises where Entrance Gallery is seated today, i.e. the former orangery of the Břevnov Monastery. It monitors and contexts the genius loci of a unique place with “its own weather” which not only allowed for things that would otherwise be impossible in the external environment such as growing citrus fruits, but it also mediated a physical experience of “a different situation” in terms of a change of scents, air humidity, temperature and visuality.
Příkaský is attracted particularly by the emotional dimension of the controlled transformation of everyday reality in a simulation of an ideal, paradise-like state as well as by specific means through which it may be achieved. Visually, Příkaský draws upon the field that loosely relates to the former function of the building. Using his artefacts, his exhibition returns to the premises the magical atmosphere it once had when it was an orangery, creating thus a unique space absolutely independent of its surroundings, where no rules apply and almost anything is possible.
In order to achieve it, he uses various media, so we see an object, video, sound installation and primarily paintings with symptoms of a photography participating in the same territory. The total of canvases – as it is a matter of habit for Příkaský – make up a specific visual vocabulary: isolated visual references, fragments of actions, objects and tools together forming a non-literal set, open to an arbitrary arrangement. Furthermore, the touches of a brush are often almost imperceptible without any foreground or background, although it informs about the depicted objects with realistic illusiveness.
The components overlap and merge, but even then we may witness a “different” kind of logic. The hierarchy of the usual stratification is distorted and the layers create a new image, which – at least partially – epitomises the current atmosphere of advanced technicality clearly larded with primitivism.

Radek Wohlmuth