Past Residents
Past Resident2013: Foundation for a Civil Society
Miran Blažek
Miran Blažek builds his work as recorded time of the constant quest for the meaning of the ordinary things we interact with in everyday life in order to build personal, emotional and mental caches of images. In his work there is a series of symbols which constitutes an open story where the words do not meet the needs of visual representation. His works function through traces which indicate that they derived from painting.
Born in 1983 in Osijek, Croatia, Miran Blažek graduated with a BA from the Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb in 2006 and completed his postgraduate studies in 2012 at Fine Arts Academy, Ljubljana. Since 2011 he has served as an external assistant in drawing classes at the Art Academy in Osijek. His selected soho exhibitions include Monochrome, Waldinger Gallery, Osijek, Whirlpool, CEKAO Gallery, Zagreb and Whirlpool the lost paintings at Kazamat Gallery, Osijek. Selected group exhibitions include T-THTaward@MSU, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagheb; Tu smo 3 (We are here 3) at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Pula; Radoslav Putar Award, Finals at Galzenica Gallery, Velika Gorica; Osijek-Pecuch/Eszek-Pecs, Nador Gallery, Pecs; Meeting point, Arab; The Essl Art Award, Glyptotheque, Zagreb and FONA, Kortil Gallery Rijeka.
Events & Exhibitions
Salon: Miran Blažek and Mark Ther
March 26, 2013
Miran Blažek, Still Life, 2012, Raw canvas on wall, 72 × 62 in. (182.88 × 157.48 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Miran Blažek, Whirlpool (Yugoslavia), 2006, Acrylic on wood, 39 in diameter. Courtesy of the artist.
Miran Blažek, Whirlpool (DDR), 2006, Acrylic on wood, 39 in diameter. Courtesy of artist .
Miran Blažek, Monument, 2012, Oil on canvas, 98 × 59 in. (248.92 × 149.86 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Miran Blažek, At The Right Place at the Right Moment, 2012, Burned carpet, 51 in diameter. Courtesy of the artist.
Past Resident2013: Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem
Jan Lesák
Jan Lesák studied Fine Art Photography but deviates from this traditional media in an attempt to break the boundaries of established genres and disciplines. Lesák’s present day work is based on post-conceptual principles and is in direct relation with the theory he discusses in his doctoral dissertation. The broad foundations of Lesák’s dissertation lie in his belief that for today’s artists it is next to impossible not to react and draw inspiration from existing works of art, formal structures, ideas and theories. Lesák’s central work The Case for a Rookie is based on a transcript of movie elements into an object, which is represented by a long term and persistent mechanical process that generates the final outcome of the work. Jan Lesák’s theory and practice often deal with sameness, alienation and the crisis of subjectivity.
Jan Lesák (born 1984) lives and works in Prague. In 2010 he graduated from the Department of Fine Art Photography at the Faculty of Art and Design – Jan Evangelista Purkyne University, where he is currently enrolled in the Visual Communication doctoral program. As part of the program, he has been an external lecturer for the master’s program students of the Department of Photography. In 2007, he studied at the Faculty of Communication Design, University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, and in 2009 he interned at Contemporary Art Projects, London. His solo exhibitions include The Case for a Rookie, Fotograf Gallery, Prague, 20011 and Reflection, m.odla gallery, Prague, 2010. Selected group exhibitions include 2012 – Sweetness of death, Small tower, DOX Center for Contemporary Art, Prague, 2012; Magic Circle, Embassy of the Czech Republic, Brussels, 2011; Prague Photo, Exhibition Hall Mánes, Prague, 2010; Making Worlds, Emil Filla Gallery, Ústí nad Labem, 2010 and Photomonth, Shining, Divus Gallery, London, 2008.
Events & Exhibitions
Salon: Jan Lesák and Law Man Lok
February 5, 2013
Jan Lesák, The Case for a Rookie, 2011, Digital C-print, 24 × 18 in. (60.96 × 45.72 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Jan Lesák, The Case for a Rookie, 2011, Timeline motion and digital c-print 4 pc, 12 x 9 in, 16 x 12 in. Courtesy of the artist.
Jan Lesák, The Case for a Rookie, 2011. Courtesy of the artist.
Jan Lesák, The Case for a Rookie, 2011, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist.
Residents from Czech Republic
Past Resident2012: Creative Australia
Kellie O’Dempsey
Through performance drawing, Kellie O’Dempsey explores liminal space and movement as narrative. With drawing as her dialogue, O’Dempsey spontaneously translates the immediacy of experience into line, form and gesture with charcoal and ink and more recently an electronic drawing device. Often working in collaboration with musicians, performers and artists, her process investigates the interconnected experience of human engagement. Via improvisation, elements of performance are translated into drawn works as an immediate means of response. Her work is currently focused on the synthesis of analogue and digital drawing.
Kellie O’Dempsey has developed installations in a vast array of spaces including: in the rehearsal studios of a ballet company (Queensland Ballet 2003), rock festivals, in The Barbican Theatre-London (2005) to commuters in subway during rush hour in Melbourne (2007). Performances and residencies include: Soundlabs, Italy, 2005-2006; Festival Internationale de Benicassim, Spain, 2005-2006; M on The Bund, Shanghai, 2009-2010; Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Art, 2011; Elephant Rock cliff face – BLEACH 2012; Live collaborative performance with Michael Dick, Brian Richie and the Tasmanian Improvisers Orchestra at MONA FOMA, Hobart, 2012, The 18th Biennale of Sydney and upcoming at Draw International, France, 2013.
Kellie O’Dempsey, Mona Foma, 2012, Live performance paper, ink, paint, digital project, and orchestra. Courtesy of the artist.
Kellie O’Dempsey, Mona Foma, 2012, Live performance paper, ink, paint, digital project, and orchestra. Courtesy of the artist.
Kellie O’Dempsey, Moving Lines, 2011, Live performance paper, ink, tagtool, and digital projector. Courtesy of the artist.
