In his paintings, collages, and films Vladimír Houdek (1982 in Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic) utilizes a principle of overlapping forms. Geometric figures seem to be suspended in midair, their chiaroscuro, gloss, and shadows are reminiscent of highly polished metal or computer graphics. It is their contrariness that draws the viewer towards these images. What appears to be a spatial dimension is actually a two-dimensional canvas, the seemingly three-dimensional objects are the result of a complex composition and sophisticated painting technique.

Houdek’s compositions are ruled by geometric formal principles. They connect contemporary aesthetics, our everyday visual experience, with historic forerunners such as constructivism and Dada. Each of Houdeks’s shows is preceded by the artist’s examination of the exhibition rooms on site after which he produces new works for those specific spaces. Additionally, for his solo exhibition in Erlangen new works of art will be created, featuring his distinctive characteristics.

The exhibition is a cooperation with the Overbeck Gesellschaft Lübeck, the Mönchehaus Museum Goslar, and the Tichy Ocean Foundation, Prague.

Image: Vladimír Houdek, Untitled, gouache and acrylic on canvas, each 60 × 50 cm, Installation view Kunstpalais, Erlangen, © Vladimír Houdek, Courtesy Polansky Gallery, Prague, Photo by Kilian Reil