Having been included in SNG’s exhibition plan, the monographic exhibition of Denisa Lehocká establishes a precedent, since monographic expositions of artists from the younger and middle generations are quite rare for SNG. Such approach does not demonstrate SNG’s cautiousness; rather, it arises from the institution’s status of a national gallery that neither wants to, nor should, present itself as a Kunsthalle. Instead, its role is to act as a museum establishing collections of visual arts, respecting verification and preservation of artistic values. However, at the beginning of 2010, SNG’s curators agreed that once in two years, it was necessary to incorporate in the exhibition plan also a monographic exhibition of an artist, whose career has not yet been finalised, one that is asking questions about the classic, modern and contemporary art, with the potential to become a partner for dialogue with these arts. The decision was also supported by the success of the Loop project by Roman Ondák, which was received positively at the 2009 Venice Biennale, where it was presented in cooperation with SNG. In a similar fashion to Ondák’s exhibition, the exposition of Denisa Lehocká is also not a retrospective. This time again, SNG initiated the birth of a new work that is being created with its contribution.
Denisa Lehocká 2012
February 10 – June 3, 2012
Esterházy Palace, 2nd Floor
Curators: Alexandra Kusá, Monika Mitášová
Denisa LehockáUntitled2011Stephan Baumann Bildraum for Badischer Kunstverein
Concept of the exhibition
The installation created by Denisa Lehocká for this exhibition in SNG takes up one entire floor of the Esterházyho Palace. The project itself is composed in a fashion similar to most of the author’s other works – it is a spatial collage combined with re-evaluation of space / architecture. Being a complex installation, it comprises of Lehocká’s drawings, paintings, objects, but also drawing tools, gallery installation components, as well as selected collection items from the Slovak National Gallery: a table designed by architect Dušan Samuel Jurkovič, or seats from architect Ján Nemec, who is the author of SNG’s interior design together with architect Vladimír Dedeček. All of these and other items together with randomly found natural objects constitute one whole.
Denisa Lehocká’s work is characteristic for its free creation in space, however, it is neither a paraphrase nor a metaphor of the surrounding world’s relations, nor is it an autobiographic confession; rather, it stands as their visual transformation. Even though all of her works have a strong autobiographic element, they tend towards a more general expression.
Exhibition catalogue
In the process of the exhibition’s duration, a monographic catalogue will be published, which will also document the new project. Its concept, together with the main artistic-historical text, was prepared by the exhibition’s curators, with contributions from several other authors as well. The catalogue contains the introduction that contextualises the work of Denisa Lehocká in the light of international context, written by Ruth Noack – a prominent art theoretician and co-founder of the Documenta 12 exhibition in Kassel. The fundamental portion of photo-documentation of Denisa Lehocká’s work was created by Czech photographer Jiří Thýn (a finalist of the 2011 J. Chalupecký award). The catalogue’s graphic design was created by Ján Šicko. Czech mathematician and cognitive scientist Ivan M. Havel, the former director of the Centre for Theoretical Study in Prague, provided an individual contribution – a graph interpreting the dialogue between the exhibition’s curators and its author.
Denisa Lehocká (1971, Trenčín)
Denisa Lehocká studied at SUPŠ in the of Atelier of Textiles led by Karol Pichler, as well as at the Academy of Fine Arts in the Open Atelier of Rudolf Sikora.
Her works are present in numerous collections, including those of SNG Bratislava, GJK Trnava and PGU Žilina, Contact Vienna, European Investment Bank, Luxembourg, Societé Generale, The Florence & Daniel Guerlain Collection Paris, as well as in private collections both in Slovakia and abroad.
Denisa Lehocká exhibited at the following venues: the Slovak National Gallery, the Open gallery, the Medium gallery, the transit dielne, Gandy gallery in Bratislava, GJK Trnava, PGU Žilina, the Vojtech Löffler Museum in Košice, Basis voor Actuele Kunst in Utrecht, Badischer Kunstverein in Karlsruhe, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Kunstverein Ulm, Kunsthaus Graz / Landesmuseum Joanneum, Kunsthalle Basel, Kunsthaus Bern, Dumbo Art Center, White Collumns, Austrian Cultural Forum in New York City, the Austrian Culture Institute, at the Veletržní palác in Prague, the Špálova and Jelení galleries, Futura and MXM in Prague, the Moravian Gallery in Brno, GASK in Kutná hora, the Klenová Gallery, the Domink Art Project in Krakow, Art-O-Rama in Marseille, Musée d'Art Moderne in Saint Etienne, Zacheta in Warsaw, Daejeon Museum of Art in Seoul, the Mumok and Künstlerhaus in Vienna, ICA in Dunaújváros, Kunsthalle Lophem, Palazzo Delle Arti in Naples, and in the Tallinn Art Hall.
Denisa Lehocká also participated at the Venice Biennale, the Mediations Biennale 2 in Poznan, the Prague Triennial, the Manifesta 3 in Ljubljana, and the October Salon in Belgrade.
Denisa LehockáUntitled2011Foto Jiří Thýn for SNG, property of GJK Trnava
Denisa LehockáUntitled2011Stephan Baumann Bildraum for Badischer Kunstverein
Denisa LehockáUntitled2011Stephan Baumann Bildraum for Badischer Kunstverein
Denisa LehockáUntitled2011Stephan Baumann Bildraum for Badischer Kunstverein