Roman Ondák
19 Jan - 04 Mar 2007
Roman Ondák is internationally one of the most sought after artists of his generation (in Summer 2006 he presented a large installation at the Tate Modern London, and, in the same year, participated in the renowned São Paulo Biennale). His exhibition at the Galerie im Taxispalais is his first solo show at an Austrian art institution.
In shifts that are hardly perceptible Roman Ondák moves everyday situations into an exhibition context to subtly capture different types of social behaviour, wishes, ideas or fantasies. He always incorporates a temporal aspect by merging past, present and future. In differently conceptualised situations, tasks or instructions, he makes the audience or people from the outside, acquaintances, also kids, workers from a factory, as well as a politician to whom he writes a letter, the co-producers of his works. “Ondák’s works can often be readable even if they are not recognised as works of art. Even more, he sometimes uses art as a means to sharpen our attention to every-day life and to situations in it that can often be readable, metaphorical and poetic too.“ (Igor Zabel)
In the series "Futuropolis" (2006) Ondák invited so-called “amateurs“ to draw images of their vision of a megalopolis of the future. In "Casting Antinomads" (2000) he asked acquaintances whether they consider themselves more as “nomads“ or as “anti-nomads“. He then made postcard-photographs of the “anti-nomads” in their domestic environment. Six years later he brings them into play again: On the one hand, as an extensive series of photographs in which the protagonists are presented in various angles, similar to castings. On the other hand, the artist asks acquaintances from the art scene for postcards to be sent to his address in Bratislava with a short hand-written text. The series of postcards presented together with the series of photos create a complex spatial-temporal loop – not just for the persons portrayed, but also for the artist and his environment.
The video "Resistance" (2006) shows a performance which took place “between the lines“, as it were, during speeches at a public event. Ondák had asked several people wearing shoes with shoe laces to simply leave them open and to move through the exhibition dragging them – an action that went largely unnoticed.
"The Stray Man" (2006) documents a man’s daily walk when suddenly his attention was attracted by large windows of a local public building.
Perhaps for his irresolution or maybe obsession he kept wandering around and from time to time gazed through the windows into the inside of the building.
Whereas these two performances were initiated and staged directly by the artist’s actors, there are also works which have an indirect performative effect on the viewer, as for instance "More Silent Than Ever" (2006), where a sign indicates an allegedly hidden eavesdropping device in a completely empty room.
In addition to the cited pieces, Roman Ondák will show a series of further video work and photographic pieces at the Galerie im Taxispalais, along with a big installation created specifically for the inner courtyard of the Galerie entitled "Here or Elsewhere" (2006).
The works "Casting Antinomads" (2000) and "Futuropolis" (2006) were produced by the Galerie Martin Janda together with the Galerie im Taxispalais and shown at the São Paulo Biennale.
Roman Ondák was born in Žilina, Slovakia in 1966. He lives and works in Bratislava.
A catalogue will be produced in 2007 together with BAK, basis voor actuele kunst in Utrecht, Netherlands.
In shifts that are hardly perceptible Roman Ondák moves everyday situations into an exhibition context to subtly capture different types of social behaviour, wishes, ideas or fantasies. He always incorporates a temporal aspect by merging past, present and future. In differently conceptualised situations, tasks or instructions, he makes the audience or people from the outside, acquaintances, also kids, workers from a factory, as well as a politician to whom he writes a letter, the co-producers of his works. “Ondák’s works can often be readable even if they are not recognised as works of art. Even more, he sometimes uses art as a means to sharpen our attention to every-day life and to situations in it that can often be readable, metaphorical and poetic too.“ (Igor Zabel)
In the series "Futuropolis" (2006) Ondák invited so-called “amateurs“ to draw images of their vision of a megalopolis of the future. In "Casting Antinomads" (2000) he asked acquaintances whether they consider themselves more as “nomads“ or as “anti-nomads“. He then made postcard-photographs of the “anti-nomads” in their domestic environment. Six years later he brings them into play again: On the one hand, as an extensive series of photographs in which the protagonists are presented in various angles, similar to castings. On the other hand, the artist asks acquaintances from the art scene for postcards to be sent to his address in Bratislava with a short hand-written text. The series of postcards presented together with the series of photos create a complex spatial-temporal loop – not just for the persons portrayed, but also for the artist and his environment.
The video "Resistance" (2006) shows a performance which took place “between the lines“, as it were, during speeches at a public event. Ondák had asked several people wearing shoes with shoe laces to simply leave them open and to move through the exhibition dragging them – an action that went largely unnoticed.
"The Stray Man" (2006) documents a man’s daily walk when suddenly his attention was attracted by large windows of a local public building.
Perhaps for his irresolution or maybe obsession he kept wandering around and from time to time gazed through the windows into the inside of the building.
Whereas these two performances were initiated and staged directly by the artist’s actors, there are also works which have an indirect performative effect on the viewer, as for instance "More Silent Than Ever" (2006), where a sign indicates an allegedly hidden eavesdropping device in a completely empty room.
In addition to the cited pieces, Roman Ondák will show a series of further video work and photographic pieces at the Galerie im Taxispalais, along with a big installation created specifically for the inner courtyard of the Galerie entitled "Here or Elsewhere" (2006).
The works "Casting Antinomads" (2000) and "Futuropolis" (2006) were produced by the Galerie Martin Janda together with the Galerie im Taxispalais and shown at the São Paulo Biennale.
Roman Ondák was born in Žilina, Slovakia in 1966. He lives and works in Bratislava.
A catalogue will be produced in 2007 together with BAK, basis voor actuele kunst in Utrecht, Netherlands.