This is the first time we have had the chance to meet the artist Nina Fránková at the Czech art scene. Although she began her studies at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague in the studio of Ceramics and Porcelain, she left soon to continue her studies in the Netherlands, more precisely at the department of Ceramics at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and the Fine Arts Department at the Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam. In her work, she has long explored the phenomenon of ceramics as a sculptural material. Her artistic approach to making art transcends our traditional understanding of ceramics or porcelain. It rejects the classical form used for design and instead approaches the material wildly, expressively, and intuitively, the way people used to work it long ago – before, it seems, humankind forgot and lost direct contact with the Earth and with nature itself.
It is freedom and not utilitarianism what can bear the meaning of a historical archive of a place capturing not only memories, but also natural spots of discovery. Through the accumulated matter, it becomes a place of our future. Fránková knows very well that form is derived from certain movement that gives rise of an existence into life. This movement is reflected in the importance of the creative process, considered by the author herself a part of an unfinished version of a work of art. Using personal documentation she lets the viewer glimpse into the complex process of creation to give him the chance to perceive the mysterious relationship between the artist and her work.
In her exhibition 18 + 2 the author presents her archive of gradually emerging sculptures, starting in 2015. The exhibition’s title is based on numerical chance, which is closely associated with the unique evolution of her series of ceramic sculptures. Although at first glance it may seem that her sculptures are in some way alike, they represent individuality in togetherness. Each ceramic stone has been subjected to certain touches, has received attention or special care We delicately observe a personal ritual that promotes our desire and curiosity to open the individual containers. Though unconsciously, Fránková’s work contains certain references to the critique of museums by authors such as Piero Manzoni, Annette Messager, Hans Haacke, and Marcel Duchamp. And, as Walter Benjamin said, “an irretrievable image of the past […] threatens to disappear in any present that does not recognize itself as intended in that image.” The exhibition thus reflects the obsessional relationship between the artist and her work as a critique of museum presentation.
Tereza Záchová
Imprint
| Artist | Nina Fránková |
| Exhibition | 18 + 2 |
| Place / venue | 35m2 Gallery, Prague |
| Dates | 16 February – 16 March 2018 |
| Curated by | Tereza Záchová |
| Photos | Petra Steinerová |
| Website | 35m2.cz/en |
| Index | 35m2 Gallery Nina Fránková Petra Steinerová Tereza Záchová |