TableTalk #2: On Intuition in Creation, Inspirational Wandering, Pessimistic Metaphysics, and the Theory of Everything
On August 13, the second TableTalk took place. The format combines an artist talk, an art salon, and an informal discussion over drinks about intellectual topics spanning art, culture, philosophy, and everyday life – all with the aim of creating an emotional connection with the invited artist.
This session introduced two remarkable talents from today’s Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (AVU), Anna Krištofíková and Roman Košťál. Beyond their friendship, they are united by their figurative work, situated somewhere between balladic dream and existential reality. Where Krištofíková employs psychological impressionism to capture her inner states, Košťál portrays an external dystopian world through the surreal distortion of black-and-white film noir. Later, their former professor Jiří Petrbok joined the discussion.
The conversation shifted between dark humor and heavy themes. Roman, who had slept only two hours over the previous two days and endured two panic attacks, spoke about studying at art schools, the intricacies of glassblowing, and his brief foray into landscape architecture. He explained that he never plans compositions in advance, instead painting instinctively as images surface from his subconscious. He described his inner need to work canvases thoroughly and across the whole surface, even though at the academy they are taught that “paintings should breathe.” Alongside his plans for an art residency in Leipzig, inspirations drawn from film expressionism, and sobriety during the creative process, Roman also spoke about coping with the death of his father – an event that transformed him not as an artist, but as a person.
Anna recalled how a teacher at art school first set her on the path to painting, and how her father was once stabbed during an altercation with an aggressive addict. She admitted that when she is not painting, she feels self-blame and a tension bordering on physical nausea. Unlike Roman, she works from a pre-conceived idea, but her paintings always take on a life of their own, ending up different from what she had originally envisioned. At present, she has gathered many preparatory photographs for future works. She is visually fascinated by landscapes and Californian highways reminiscent of David Lynch’s Lost Highway. Travel and changes of environment are essential for her inspiration. An art residency in New York helped her move forward in her practice and cross the Rubicon of self-portraits – she no longer paints herself, but rather her inner moods, sorrows, and desires.
The conversation also touched on theoretical physics (M-theory and superstring theory), philosophy (Philipp Mainländer, nihilism, antinatalism), literature (Louis-Ferdinand Céline’s Journey to the End of the Night and Death on Credit), and culture (Mat Collishaw, Sofia Art Fair, Petrbok’s flag Death and Hammer and his passion for classical music). Other questions emerged: whether and why the curator’s perspective matters, and how money can influence artistic creation.
Why come next time?
TableTalk is not an artist talk. It’s not an opening. It’s not a podcast. It’s all of these — an inspiring gathering in an underground club where artists talk about both intimate and socially resonant themes. At the next TableTalk, you might be sitting next to someone whose artwork is hanging on the wall beside you.
