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PRESS RELEASE Jan Vytiska / Kristi na Chrastekov a Plameny mi rosily zrak / The flames dewed my sight December 7 , 2012 – January 26 , 2013 „Havranie noci bez nemohúcnosti v ohni pálim. „ I burn the powerless crows of night in the fire bright. Koľko stihnú bežať? How much running can be done? V ramenách sa bortia sami tí hráči. The players are collapsing, their shoulders crumpling. Padajú nahor k nebesám a radi ...“ They are falling heavenwards, and gladly so…“ K. Ch. K. Ch. překlad / tran slation by Marek Tomin Two ind ependent shows e x h ibited at Jiri S vestka Gallery, one of paintings and drawings by Jan Vytiska and the other of a film by Kristina Chrastekova, are guiding us through mysterious landscapes. L ayers of morning fog and purity o f myt h ological beginnings, world s of dreamlike scenes , secret surreal stories and horror situations. Main characters of both work s are watching us closely. Starting with apparent glimpse they find what they need gazing right inside of us. As we enter the gallery space we come upon the paintings of Jan Vytiska. They tell stories, insistently without a moment for rest , from the heart of true hell and darkness. His paintings remind us of folk wisdom , which contain similar trades of eclecti c arbitrariness . I n his art, trash and folk loric creativity belongs to one steam, dark steam of collec tive sub cons c ious ness . Fictional anthropomorphic creatures are emerging from dreamlike brut worlds of old times. T hese mysterious surreal stories remind the onlook e r throu gh their aesthetics of contemporary animated fairy tales for adults. In the second half of the gallery space we are awaited by the author and protagonist, in one person, who will guide us through a three - act film poem , which inter weaves moving image and spoken word to create a rich audiovisual fabric pulsating on the boundaries between the human psyche and nature, the landscape and the mindscape, the animus and the anima, the animate and the inanimate. Set in the mountainous region s of Slovakia, the work presents a series of visual and literary tableaux juxtaposing beguiling images with ritualized narrative motifs. Mountain goats and sheep wander through a deserted village; a wooden church stands in silent vigil over meadows and dar k forests; a young woman in folk dress suddenly appears in the untamed scenery, as if materializing from the unconscious mind of the landscape. Her voice echoes briefly through the valleys and then silence returns, punctuated only by the murmur of the elem ents. She fills a cup with the shimmering water of a mountain stream, immerses herself in a pool of milk, struggles through drifts of untarnished snow. At intervals this visual flow is underscored by the vivid imagery of the inner voice of the protagonist, or perhaps it is the voice of one of her alter egos. Without linear narrative or denouement, this metaphysical fable employs folklore iconography, personal mythology and archetypal symbolism to explore the spaces between reality and dream. Jan Vytiska ( 1985) belongs among the most important emerging artists . He studied in Ostrava at New Media studio of Jiri Suru vka and graduated in 2010. In January 2012 Vytiska was one of the finalist s of the critic´s award for young painting. He recieved UniCreditBank´s Prague Photo Award for young artists of less than 30 years of age, at Art Prague 2011. He just closed an exhibiti on at the Gallery Kaple in Valasské Mezirici which has been his most signifiant solo exhibition up to this date. Kristi na Chrastekov a (1980 ) emerged into the art scene only recently. She creates films and objels. Her film Wildly and fiercely soothes the animal was in the past year presented at Guido W. Baudach, Berlin, and in the experimental space Kai 10, Düsseldorf as well as at the G allery Svit, Praha. JIRI SVESTKA GALLERY Biskupsky dvu r 6, 110 00 Prague 1 , Czech Republic tel +420 222 311 092 fax +420 222 311 099 gallery@jirisvestka.com www.jirisvestka.com Opening hours Tue – Sat 11 a.m. – 6 p.m . Please note that the gallery will be closed from December 24, 2012 to January 2, 2013.