After a longer pause in my exhibition practice, I presented Eye Eye Eye! at Graciano Gallery in Brno in early 2026. The show – named after my series of the same title – featured primarily oil paintings, complemented by selected works from other series, objects, and large-scale text elements. I conceived the installation as a spatial whole in which image, object, and word intensify one another.
Physical State of Mind
At the core of the exhibition is my long-term process, which I call “Physical State of Mind”. It is not a new method, but a conscious continuation of approaches present in Surrealism and Art Brut — both part of my creative roots.
I begin with a physical experience of a current mental or bodily state and search for its visual trace. First comes a quick psychohygienic drawing; if a motif remains alive, I develop it into painting, object, or spatial situation. Eye Eye Eye! is built from these developed motifs — intimate states that can also be collectively recognized.
Title and Themes
The title refers to the eye, seeing, and bringing hidden content from the unconscious into consciousness. At the same time, it functions as a phonetic exclamation — “Ajajaj!” — a spontaneous reaction some works may evoke.
The body is central to my work: not as anatomy, but as a symbolic field that reveals tension, shame, vulnerability, desire, tenderness, and humor. I bend, deform, soften, and layer bodily forms to map lived perception — what it feels like to exist in a body.
Spatial Dramaturgy
The exhibition was structured as a path: an open entrance section, more intimate zones with bodily fragments and texts, and “The Corner of Depressive Physicality” as a quiet climax.
In this final section, image, object, seating, and light rhythm create a concentrated atmosphere in which the viewer becomes an active participant rather than a distant observer.
Word as a Second Layer
My poems, shown in large formats, formed a second perceptual layer. Originally written as emotional release, they do not explain the images literally; instead, they open inner currents and create tension with the visual works.
Across the installation, fragmentation, repetition, and transformation recur. Contrasts were essential: fragility and hardness, humor and gravity, tenderness and unease.
Video Tour
Photographs capture detail, but only movement through space reveals the relationships between works and layers of the installation.
This report therefore concludes with a video tour following the route as originally conceived.
What I Take Away
For me, Eye Eye Eye! was not only a presentation of finished works, but a confirmation of my direction — connecting physicality, psychological states, text, and space. After a longer exhibition break, it was a meaningful return to my visual language and to the belief that the personal can be deeply shared.
Acknowledgements
My sincere thanks to Graciano Gallery for the opportunity to present this exhibition. Special thanks to Zuzana Valešová for the beautiful exhibition photographs.
Photo credit: © Zuzana Valešová, 2026
