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House of Art
TUES–SUN 10:00–18:00

Interspaces

2001–2005

mixed technique, cloth, mechanical motion, 200 × 200 × 200 cm

purchased in 2020 with the support of the Czech Ministry of Culture

In this strikingly colourful object, Matasová juxtaposes the minimalistic flat surfaces of a wall-mounted object (covered with stretched cloth) with the motion produced by the mechanism hidden inside the object. When the mechanism is in motion, a sculptural effect develops across its smooth surface. The suspended object creates a striking visual game and opens up numerous possibilities for interpretation. Perhaps its most powerful effect is to make us reflect upon the ostensibly static nature of the object, under whose surface there is, nevertheless, movement. Instability and constant development are fundamental characteristics of the universe. However, it is interesting that when humans perceive the world, it appears to them to be static and stable. The object “Interspaces” also addresses the notion of secrets. Using highly economical means, a smooth minimalistic surface is transformed into new, moving constellations of shapes, creating an unexpected tension on the surface. Apparent certainty becomes an element of surprise, which draws us into the artist’s play with materials and shapes, and thoroughly captivates our attention.

MATASOVÁ ADÉLA

(1940, Prague) Painter, sculptor, graphic artist, creator of objects and installations. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (1958–1964). She has exhibited solo since 1971 and in group exhibitions since 1969; her work has also frequently been exhibited abroad, including international projects in Germany, Britain, Belgium, and particularly in the USA. Since 1990 she has taught at the Prague Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design (as a member of the spatial art studio specializing in textiles and alternative techniques). In 2000 she was a visiting teacher at the University of Colorado in Boulder. In 2004–2005 she was the Vice-Rector of the Josef Škvorecký Academy, and in 2005–2012 she taught in Plzeň, at the West Bohemian University’s Faculty of Art and Design, where she co-founded the spatial and intermedia art studio. Adéla Matasová’s work has always been rooted in a conceptual approach. After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, she responded to newly emerging artistic directions in her approach to space, repetition and intermediality. Her installations from the 1990s are situated in monumental spaces and various types of architecture, such as the stone walls of medieval castles, stables, city halls and similar interiors, but also in exterior spaces. Her favourite material is metal, particularly thin polished sheet metal that acts as a mirror. She often uses sheet metal to make periscope-type structures. Besides her large-scale sculptural works and spatial installations, Matasová is also known for her suspended kinetic objects driven by electrical motors or software; here again frequent features are mirroring effects, elements of surprise and variability in materials.
digitally altered photograph, paper 1000 × 1500 mm, purchased 2020 with the support of the Czech Ministry of Culture
2000–2001

Fictitious projects

video, duration 63 seconds, purchased 2020 with the support of the Czech Ministry of Culture
2019

Each of us has at some time wanted to touch existence

mixed technique, steel, digital motion, mirror steel, numerals, 50 × 50 × 25 cm, purchased 2020 with the support of the Czech Ministry
2014

The infinity of numbers

Girl in a fur

Girl in a fur

undated
Old Eroticism

Old Eroticism

1996
Concrete (Below a Slag-Heap)

Concrete (Below a Slag-Heap)

1983
Wallachian Madonna

Wallachian Madonna

1921
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