UMPRUM winter 2024
Welcome to our curated showcase of standout artworks from the winter semester at the Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design in Prague.
Hubert Švaříček
Hubert Švaříček is the hottest thing at UMPRUM right now and this has been the case for approximately the past year. This installation is called:
„The keyhole from the gate behind the house looks smaller to me“, as in his previous works Hubert reflects on his childhood memories.
In this work, he recalls his childhood hideaway he always had behind this gate. This is the first time he added a ceramic to his installation. And I absolutely love it. The helmet is child sized with two keyholes in the front. This semester, Hubert has produced a substantial amount of work, which you can explore on his Instagram. Unfortunately, due to limitations in his school studio space, he was only able to showcase these two pieces.
Marie Boková
I was absolutely thrilled by this depiction of a horse at a ceramic studio. I was immediately reminded of a movie: The Turin Horse by Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky. Marie Boková's work basically shows how leaders celebrate winning and power, but it makes you think about the pain caused. Instead of a proud ruler on a horse, she made a statue of a tired, broken horse, questioning if we should really celebrate something that hurts others. I appreciate it when someone tackles current issues and addresses them beyond the initial glance.
Ljuba Šlechtová
Ljuba Šlechtová has finally perfected her handcrafted frames. The polish on the smaller one, coupled with the sentence 'Sooner or later, we will start to smile, which is how we get to cry for real,' transforms it into a masterpiece. I genuinely adore the outcome of this painting and eagerly anticipate what she unveils this summer.
Šimon Jan
Another set of handcrafted frames I observed was by Šimon Jan. These paintings are part of the series he calls the Elementcore series 2024. He polishes his frames with flames. Burnt wood is another choice for preserving wood from decay. Japanese builders have utilized charred timber for centuries, referring to the process as Shou Sugi Ban or Yakisuki. It has long been valued in Japan for its durability.
Once again, I am genuinely pleased with how these paintings turned out. I can't wait for summer. Perhaps I can accelerate the wait by organising an exhibition featuring Šimon Jan alongside Ljuba Šlechtová.
Agáta Klimtová
The first year of the glass studio under the direction of Rony Plesl Agáta Klimtová surprised me. It happens rarely when a student of the first year has the best installation of the whole studio. Agáta has a great sense for materials and aesthetics. As she wrote in her brochure, for her this semester was basically an experiment with the material and its limitations. Her "experiment“ was for me, the best I saw at the whole studio.
Go girl.
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