Štěpán Brož: Swampy Alliance

 

The exhibition presents the current painting work of Štěpán Brož. The themes of the exhibited works draw on inspiration from folklore, fantasy literature, video games, and the aesthetics of black metal and dungeon synth. They balance on the boundary between a subtly ironic commentary and a surreal softening of the present, as well as the artist’s personal experiences. The paintings depict an ambivalent world of poetic everyday life intertwined with almost mythological scenes of legendary times, where mythical figures, knights, and goblins encounter contemporary, ordinary characters within a distinctly Czech or Central European landscape. This original blend of genres creates narratively and emotionally charged scenarios in which the world of magic and the supernatural subtly permeates the present.
Štěpán Brož (*1992) is a painter and illustrator. He completed his bachelor’s studies at the Studio of Illustration and Graphics at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, and his master’s degree at the Painting Studio I under the guidance of Vasil Artamonov at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Brno University of Technology, where he is currently continuing his doctoral studies. He has participated in international residencies, including CEDIM in Monterrey, Mexico; KASK in Ghent, Belgium; and Schaumbad in Graz, Austria. His work has been presented in solo exhibitions, for example at Xaoxax Gallery in Prague and Zaazrak Dornych in Brno, as well as in group exhibitions at venues such as the KASK Drawing Cabinet in Ghent, Holešovická šachta in Prague, MeetFactory, Galerie Klatovy Klenová, TIC Gallery (with Medard Zeman), and AQB in Budapest.

Altbau will perform at the opening. Altbau is a solo project by architect and multi-instrumentalist Angel Dodov. With a background straddling DIY scenes—currently active in the improvisational groups Raw Deal and Ginger Wizard, as well as with the Vienna-based post-punk outfit Autor—and classical training on the double bass, Dodov’s approach is at once raw and delicate.
This hybrid background is reflected in a wide range of textures and conceptual approaches on altbau’s debut album, recorded in Berlin in 2020 and recently released on the Stoned to Death label. Currently, altbau focuses on the notions of time, repetition, and the materiality of sound, while also refining a live production approach that uses the double bass as the sole source for processing and manipulation. https://stoned-to-death.bandcamp.com/…/v-echno-je-pln-jin
ig: https://www.instagram.com/ang.dod/

Kurátoři: Ján Gajdušek & Tereza Havlovicová

foto: Schule, Adéla Kremplová