Guest Curator Michal Stolárik Highlights The Works Of Ruben Cukier, Glenn Badham & Jose Santiago
Michal Stolárik. Independent contemporary art curator and art critic.About Michal Stolárik
Michal Stolárik is an independent contemporary art curator and art critic. Born in 1988, lives and works in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Between 2019 – 2021 he was a curator in Ján Koniarek Gallery in Trnava, Slovakia. Between 2015 – 2016 he worked in Kunsthalle Bratislava and gallery work experiences gained in Zahorian & Van Espen Gallery (Bratislava, 2013 - 2015) and HIT Gallery (Bratislava, 2011 – 2013). For the years 2012 and 2013 he was a coordinator of the Oskár Čepan Award at Foundation - Center for Contemporary Arts in Bratislava.
He was selected for residency programmes at Quartier 21 / MuseumsQuartier in Vienna and Salzburg Summer Academy (Studio of Raimundas Malašauskas).
More information visit his website Selected Artworks
Ruben Cukier
Glenn Badham
Jose SantiagoRuben Cukier
At first glance, the color balanced oil painting artist Ruben Cukier takes the viewers to the context of a surrealist environment with a strongly dystopian mood. The traditional triangular composition is dominated by hybrid Giger-like figural objects, the function of which remains unknown. Their sculptural character contributes to the static situation with subtle dynamic moments.
However, the formal differences of the sky-high objects, together with the title of the painting (Caste), suggests that we are looking at a certain hierarchy created by the artist.
The emphasis on the symbolic nature of the painting and its contemporary subject matter is accented by small human figures, whose anonymous uniformity and obvious subordination to the higher power contributes to the overall disturbing atmosphere of the work.
Glenn Badham
Although Glenn Badham's detailed drawing in charcoal and pencil is captivating thanks to its simplicity, it still provokes one's imagination. The expressive depiction of reality reveals the charm of an ordinary situation, preserved by the author in an indefinite time or season.
The play of light and shadows shows an everyday scene, in which the living or untamed nature contrasts with the intervention of the society in the form of traditional rural houses.
The centre of the drawing as well as the artist's attention is, however, the monumental oak tree that has probably occupied this spot before the nearby buildings. The simple moment opens up themes related to history, the passing of time, but also the human transience.
Jose Santiago
The naked, possibly human figure in the central painting composition presents a subtle departure from the predominantly abstract oeuvre of Jose Santiago. The focus on corporeality is accompanied by pulsating colorful fields that contour the slightly hunched and twisted figure, whose body language speaks for itself.
The expressive linear painting is complemented by red gestures that surround the major motif and are visible on the back of an unknown man as traces of whipping.
Their rhythmic continuity probably refers to counting up or down to the end of the depicted situation. Thus, the title of the work (Guilt) unveils the premise of the painting and possibly explains why the figure doesn't want to show its face.