Jiří Příhoda’s artistic practice may best be characterised as an exploration of space, volume, matter and emptiness. Put into practice, his morphologically immensely inventive and innovative studies of imaginary objects become highly inspiring sites that interconnect architectural designs with fine art sculpture.
The objective does not lie in the utility of the created environment, form or sculpture. Příhoda employs architectural devices to deftly navigate abstract spatial studies that are best understood from the perspective of artistic solutions to material problems. The primary theme of his presentations of form-focused work, creativity and ingenuity is the search for emotionally balanced and at the same time inspiringly provocative designs of intersections of space and matter, as well as encounters between reality and mere concept. All this is usually done without prior considerations for potential practical applications, although these are not ruled out. In other words, his theme also comprises the inspiration to highlight other than the utilitarian worlds that are inherently the focal point of architectural thinking, and he often does so in ways that are nonstandard or even downright ungraspable in practice. In its essence, Jiří Příhoda’s highly conceptual thinking regarding the abstract construction of matter does not lie far from meditative approaches to the architectural construction of inner and outer space, whose form is increasingly determined primarily through the reinterpretation of many traditional, profoundly considered and tried and tested historical architecture practices that almost approach classical balance and reference the canons of antiquity. The Rudolfinum’s complex and complicated neo-renaissance architecture provides an important and inspirational “counterpoint” for the artist – its qualities always stand out best when confronted with strong contemporary art concepts.
Mostly featuring entirely new installations, the exhibition also includes reminders of Příhoda’s key works from decades past. Galerie Rudolfinum’s VOID is certainly the most extensive showcase of his practice to date with a deeply developed configuration of internal connections between the constituent installations – both on the level of the interpenetration of their forms, and their conceptual sequence. Příhoda’s oeuvre stands out with its absolutely unwavering level of excellence that by far exceeds the current standard of presentations of its type, making it one of a kind on the Czech art scene.
Curator: Petr Nedoma