Flow

Curator: Jaro Varga 
Opening: 18. 2. 2016, 19:00
Exhibition duration: 18. 2. – 3. 4. 2016
Artist: Jan Poupě
      
In the center of the Flow exhibition of Jan Poupě stands a monumental object, dominating the space of Kostka Gallery. Here its author further develops his long-term interest in natural and meteorological phenomena, this time stepping out of the two-dimensional canvas, trying to grasp this complex theme by means of a complex environment – a total installation. Jan has created an aerodynamic tunnel with an airflow enhanced by the effect of mist floating through a model of a city placed in the tunnel’s lower part, surrounding its buildings and forming vortices in the air. Jan Poupě creates an artificially simulated reality, the fact he does not deny, rather on the contrary, he admits and highlights it. It is a “model of flowing”, a utopic gesture and temporary illusion, giving us the chance of visual observation, but also showing the impossibility to penetrate this technical-natural mechanism with other senses than the sight. Rather then displaying his fascination with natural phenomena, Jan Poupě postulates the question of borders between reality, perception and representation. The construed reality shown to us at the Kostka Gallery might be understood as an art gallery space put to test in its ability to influence our apprehension of the cycles of nature. The question of whether a living matter can be replaced by an artificial one or how something artificial could possibly become alive by means of proper retelling, took the artist’s fancy. The simulated airflow is not a technical replacement of a real natural phenomenon, but by means of an aura of originality, livelihood and historicity it becomes a unique installation, a life itself.

Jan Poupě (born 1988 in Prague) graduated from the Prague Academy of Fine Arts (Atelier Painting I, professor Jiří Sopko). In 2011 Jan made two study visits within the Academy (Guest Professor Atelier, Silke Otto-Knapp; and Atelier Intermedia II, Professor Jiří Příhoda). In 2012 Jan paid a study visit to the Facultad de Bellas Artes, Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain, where he created a painting-istallation called Inner Space in microRezidensies Islandia.  

Recently Jan presented his works at the Fait Gallery in Brno, as part of his solo exhibition called The Set of Views (2015) at the Vyšehrad Gallery Prague, as part of the Matheria exhibition (2015), and at the Gallery of Art Critics (Prague), the Landscape = Painting exhibition (2015).