Bez názvu (Untitled) 1998

Editor: Here we have Oldrich Kulhánek’s “Untitled,” created in 1998. It looks like a drawing or a print, done with charcoal or maybe pencil. The somber tone and the layering of imagery create a rather intense feeling. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, first, the face, the strong features seem almost etched in sorrow. But look above! The hands, that strange little cherubic figure. It feels… theatrical. A stage where personal demons are played out. Notice how the wisps of charcoal create figures within figures. It feels almost stream-of-consciousness. As though the artist is plumbing the depths of his own psyche. Don't you think so? Editor: I see what you mean, especially how the little faces around the central figure emerge almost from the shadows, yet they feel like memories or something. What about that ornate framing around the head though? Is that important? Curator: Absolutely. It elevates the ordinary face into something archetypal, timeless, almost religious. The lines around the face draw attention, which could imply looking back or memories. That cherub, could it be innocence lost or corrupted? And what is it shielding with its hands? Does any of this spark anything else within you? Editor: Maybe a battle between reason and something more spiritual, especially with the juxtaposition of that realistic face with the almost surreal ornamentation. I didn't really see it that way at first. Curator: That’s the beauty of Kulhánek. His art acts as a Rorschach blot; our own stories and feelings get projected onto its dark surfaces.