Sailing on the lines

KOPPEL Villa, one of the venues of the Gallery of Ján Koniarek in Trnava, which sits on the edge of the town’s historical area, has recently become the showcase for an exhibition of special treasures from the gallery’s collections. Some of the works displayed as part of the Plavba líniami (Sailing on the Lines) exhibition, which will last for a month, have never been seen by the public before.

“After one year of temporary exhibitions coming from outside, we have decided to give preference to the works in our collections and to present them to the public,” Miroslav Zajac, the curator of the exhibition, told The Slovak Spectator.

As its name might suggest, the selection of works was made with a focus on drawings and graphics, two artistic techniques well-represented in the gallery’s collections. According to Zajac, the selection was also restricted to the time period of the 1970s or before.

“The limit was set because nowadays contemporary, newer graphics – from the 1980s onwards – are in general presented more often than older ones,” Zajac said. “And there are [older] works of graphics in our collections that have been displayed only rarely, with some of them never having been presented to the public before.”

The selections come from the gallery’s rich collection of almost 3,500 works of art. Those that have been selected represent a large number of various traditional drawing techniques and materials, such as charcoal, graphite, or aquarelle, as well as a wide range of graphic techniques, including lithography and xylography.

“We have also tried to select works according to their authors in order to present as many artists whose works are in our collection as possible,” Zajac said. As a result, the exhibition features over 50 famous, as well as less-known, Slovak artists.

The inter-war generation of the founders of modern graphics in Slovakia is represented by Janko Alexy, Mikuláš Galanda, Ľudovít Fulla, and Mikuláš Alexander Bazovský.

Zajac mentioned also the graphic works and illustrations by Alojz Klima, who belongs to the generation that was active just after WWII, with his works often depicting the violence of the war but also images of family and work in the era of the beginning of socialism.

“Regional authors include Július Oravský and Jozef Baláž, who was a follower and enthusiast of Vincent Hložník, an artist very significant in the development of 20th century Slovak graphics,” Zajac said. Other local Slovaks represented at the exhibition include Teodor Tekel, Jozef Šturdík, Ján Koniarek and Oskár Čepan.

According to Zajac, the last time the Gallery of Ján Koniarek displayed an exhibition composed of works from its own collections was at the 30th anniversary of the gallery’s founding.

“It’s possible that in the near future we will again do something similar and then exhibit the newest works in our collection,” Zajac said.

Plavba líniami is open for the public until February 14, 2010. For more information about opening times go to www.gjk.sk.