19.1. - 1.2.2019
Michal Czinege - Peter Schlemihl's Shadow
Welcome to the exhibition opening on Friday 18 January at 18-21h.
"Shadows are halfway between thought and perception."
Roberto Casati
Peter Schlemihl's Shadow borrows its title from an early 19th century fable about a youngster who sells his shadow to the devil in exchange for a purse of infinite riches. Schlemihl comes to deeply regret the pact: What does it mean?
Michal Czinege brings into focus things we take for granted and overlook until something fundamental changes. In gallery Pleiku he displays a site-specific installation that exploits the workings of shadows as transient perceptual phenomena. The installation acts together with the viewer's presence; shadows become translucent, objects seem to loose volume and painting fluctuate on the verge of visibility.
A shadow is never only an absence of light, but proof of presence. The exhibition draws attention to the phenomenology of shadow, but moreover, it makes palpable the fact that it deprives the presence of its audience. Peter Schlemihl's Shadow remains invisible.
Michal Czinege (1980) is a Slovak-born visual artist based in Finland. He has always been drawn to painting with spatial installations, but is currently working with shadows and light extends beyond the painted surface and include viewer participation. Czinege earned his doctorate degree from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia in 2011 and worked as assistant professor in the Academy's Department of Painting until 2015. His work has been published internationally in solo and group exhibitions, including the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava, Q21 at Museumsquartier in Vienna and most recently at MUU Gallery in Helsinki.
The exhibition has been generously supported by Alfred Kordelin Foundation and Arts Promotion Center Finland (Taike).
www.michalczinege.com
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Michal Czinege - Peter Schlemihl's shadow
"shadows are in the middle of thought and perception."
Roberto Casati
Peter Schlemihl's shadow borrows its title from a fairytale from the early 19th century about a boy who sold his shadow to the devil for a magical wallet with infinite riches. Schlemihl wants regret this pact, because he did not know that selling his shadow means losing his own identity.
Michal Czinege's art brings to the fore things that we take for granted or overlook until there is a fundamental change. In the gallery Pleiku he shows a page-specific installation that exploits the interplay of shadow as a fleeting, perceptual phenomenon. The installation interacts with the viewer's presence - shadows become translucent,
Shadows are never just the absence of light, but a proof of presence. The exhibition not only points to the phenomenology of the shadows, but also makes it clear that it does not change its identity. Without the physical intervention of the viewer's shadow, parts of Peter Schlemihl's shadow remain invisible.
Michal Czinege (1980) is a Slovak, visual artist living in Finland. He has always been interested in mixing painting with spatial installations, but is currently working with shadow and light beyond the painted surface and interacting with the viewer himself.
Czinege holds a doctorate from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia in 2011, where he worked as assistant professor in the Faculty of Painting until he moved to Finland in 2015. His works have been exhibited internationally in both individual and group exhibitions, including the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava, Q21 at the Museumsquartier in Vienna, and recently at the MUU Gallery in Helsinki.
This exhibition was generously supported by the Alfred Kordelin Foundation and Arts Promotion Center Finland (Taike).
www.michalczinege.com
