Flash / Záblesk
Galéria Umelka, Dostojevského rad 2, Bratislava, Slovakia
November 22 – December 15, 2024
FLASH
23. year of biennial of textile miniature let artists work on theme Flash. With this theme choice it once again returned to concept from preceding, 22. year, which was on theme bubbles. What links these two themes together, is an ability to interpret them as literal physical occurrences and also as a metaphor.
Flash is a short flare of light and the human eye isn’t able to experience this moment in its whole essence. On the other hand, it enables our imagination to work to its full extent and to create those parts we didn’t absorb for better grasp and understanding. In past times was natural bioluminescence of swamps interpreted as ignis fatuus, or willow-o’-wisp and so today we can guess what authors could see, when creating pieces for this exhibition.
In present times flashes can be very important for us. In the world, which we more and more perceive negatively, short flashes of something good are essential for us individually and socially. It is because they give us hope. Hope, that although we do not function as we would want to, it can change for better. Hope inspires us and won’t let us slacken. It was short flash of School of applied arts and crafts in Bratislava, that had immense impact on society and set foundations for art education in modern day Slovakia. Although not all exhibited pieces are optimistic like this, their exposure of these problems is important for their understanding and hopefully their eventual solving.
This year’s textile miniature exhibits 60 works of professional artists and 14 student works from 19 countries. Thanks to this, the local scene can confront itself with the foreign scene. We can witness what connects and differentiates local artists from their distant colleagues. Some themes can be clearly defined as “beyond nationalities”, however some that are more heavily ingrained in different cultures and traditions, which gives the exhibition unique and diverse character.
To conclude we must bring up the effort for artistic invention and disruption of customary norms in miniature, as in matters of materiality and also formally. By this they clearly demonstrate that the form of textile miniature isn’t petrified in time, but it is discovering itself and is still evolving. In the end it sends a great message for upcoming exhibitions of this biennale.
Martin Muhrín