Július Koller
Subjectobject (Triple Frame)
Artist
Július Koller
(1939, Piešťany - 2007, Bratislava), Slovak
Original Title
Subjectobject (Triple Frame)
Date1966
Mediumlatex paint on wood, linen twine
Dimensions57,5 × 63,8 × 6 cm
Classificationssculpture
Credit LineKunsthalle Praha
DescriptionJúlius Koller was a Slovakian artist whose practice is closely linked to the conceptual art of the 1960s and 1970s. His work is based on an elaborate mythological dimension, combining rational and irrational elements, which can be viewed as a reaction to the official art of the time and to life in the reality of communist normalization. His art is shaped not only by physical objects, but also heavily by patterns of thought marked by an unmistakable irony, which manifests in a disruption and negation of the established boundaries of conventional art. This approach links his work to the contemporary Western tendencies of neodada, Fluxus, and new realism. It also led him to exclusively title his pieces using the prefix “anti-“, which was meant to convey the arrival of a new, alternative, subjectively-objective reality augmenting our cognition with new meanings. From 1969 onward, Koller adopted the question mark as one of his characteristic symbols, using it to express his incessant doubts and uncertainties regarding the contemporary social context of Czechoslovakia. His work from the 1970s and 1980s is based on the principle of so-called cultural situations, which transform all mundane human activities into art, thus helping engender a deep social transformation. An essential component of Koller’s utopian dadaist style is an interest in futurological-cosmological topics, which he shared with a wider range of Slovak artists. His work was also defined by a lifelong passion for waste materials, both visual and textual, referencing the socialist and post-socialist world. Such materials were not only a source of inspiration for his artistic practice, but also an integral part of documenting his own life. Koller also belonged to artistic circles engaging with so-called mail art, using the post to distribute his stances, situations, and statements among his friends.
Subjektobjekt (1966) is composed of three square-shaped wooden frames bound together by rope. The piece is part of his series of objects made of waste materials, which he used to create simple, minimalist compositions thematizing painting as a medium and the relation between the painting substrate and the frame. This object also relates to the process of merging the high and the low, and generally disrupts the conventional status of the artwork. The frames are coated with white latex paint, which, in the context of Koller’s practice, marked the move from traditional brush-based oil painting toward a depersonalized approach. These works foreshadowed his anti-paintings and were also an important part of his happenings based on a situational interplay of the subject (the artist) and the appropriated object.
Július Koller (1939, Piešťany – 2007, Bratislava) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava during the late 1950s and early 1960s. During this time, he also partook in the school’s “experimental” exhibitions (1963, 1964). In 1967 and 1968, Koller had two solo exhibitions in Bratislava, at the Cyprián Majerník Gallery and the House of Arts. During the early 1970s, he maintained ties with Czech conceptual artists Jiří Valoch and Petr Štembera, and was also included in the notable contemporary publication Aktuelle Kunst in Ostreuropa (1972, ed. Klaus Groh). In the 1970s and 1980s, Koller took part in exhibitions in Western Europe and South America mapping the art of Eastern Europe, whereas at home he could only take part in official group exhibitions. Shortly after the Velvet Revolution, he co-founded the art group Nová Vážnost (“New Seriousness”; 1991–1993) along with Peter Rónal and Milan Adamčiak. In 1991, after more than twenty years, a solo exhibition of his work, titled Sondy, took place at the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava. During the 1990s, his work was included in several important exhibitions introducing conceptual art from behind the Iron Curtain, including Der Riss im Raum: Positionen der Kunst seit 1945 in Deutschland, Polen, Der Slowakei und Tschechien (Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin; Galerie Zacheta, Warsaw; Prague City Gallery, 1994), Aspects/Positions. 50 Years of Art in Central Europe 1949–1999 (Vienna, 1999; Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, 2000) and Global Conceptualism: Points of Origin, 1950–1980 (Queens Museum of Art, New York City, 1999). In 1996, Koller represented Slovakia at the 23rd São Paulo Biennial. In 2003, he had a solo exhibition in the Kölnischer Kunstverein in Cologne and in 2007 his work was included in the group exhibition Fluxus East: Fluxus-Netzwerke in Mitteleuropa (Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin; Šiuolaikinio meno centras / Contemporary Art Cetre, Vilnius; Ludwig Museum, Budapest). In recent years, Koller’s work has been featured in important thematic exhibitions focusing on the avantgarde art of the second half of the twentieth century held in Vienna (The Death of the Audience, Wiener Secession, 2014), New York City (Report on the Construction of a Spaceship Module, New Museum, 2014), Brussels (Facing the Future: Art in Europe 1945–1968, BOZAR – Palais des Beaux-Art / Paleis voor Schone Kunsten / Centre for Fine Arts, 2016) and Karlsruhe (Kunst in Europa 1945–1968: Die Zukunft im Blick / Art in Europe 1945–1968: Facing the Future, Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM), 2017). His most recent retrospective, titled One Man Anti-Show, was held at the Mumok in Vienna (Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien) between 2016 and 2017. Following his death, Koller’s estate is currently managed by the Slovak National Gallery and the First Slovak Investment Group. A large part of his work is thus permanently displayed at the recently opened Julius Koller’s Anti-Museum (managed by The Július Koller Society). Koller’s work is also held in the collections of institutions such as the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Gallery in London, the Generali Foundation in Vienna, La Collection du Musée National d´Art Moderne in Paris, Collección Jumex in Mexico, the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, the Kontakt Art Collection in Vienna, the National Gallery Prague, and the Moravian Gallery in Brno (which holds the collection of Jiří Valoch).
Subjektobjekt (1966) is composed of three square-shaped wooden frames bound together by rope. The piece is part of his series of objects made of waste materials, which he used to create simple, minimalist compositions thematizing painting as a medium and the relation between the painting substrate and the frame. This object also relates to the process of merging the high and the low, and generally disrupts the conventional status of the artwork. The frames are coated with white latex paint, which, in the context of Koller’s practice, marked the move from traditional brush-based oil painting toward a depersonalized approach. These works foreshadowed his anti-paintings and were also an important part of his happenings based on a situational interplay of the subject (the artist) and the appropriated object.
Július Koller (1939, Piešťany – 2007, Bratislava) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava during the late 1950s and early 1960s. During this time, he also partook in the school’s “experimental” exhibitions (1963, 1964). In 1967 and 1968, Koller had two solo exhibitions in Bratislava, at the Cyprián Majerník Gallery and the House of Arts. During the early 1970s, he maintained ties with Czech conceptual artists Jiří Valoch and Petr Štembera, and was also included in the notable contemporary publication Aktuelle Kunst in Ostreuropa (1972, ed. Klaus Groh). In the 1970s and 1980s, Koller took part in exhibitions in Western Europe and South America mapping the art of Eastern Europe, whereas at home he could only take part in official group exhibitions. Shortly after the Velvet Revolution, he co-founded the art group Nová Vážnost (“New Seriousness”; 1991–1993) along with Peter Rónal and Milan Adamčiak. In 1991, after more than twenty years, a solo exhibition of his work, titled Sondy, took place at the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava. During the 1990s, his work was included in several important exhibitions introducing conceptual art from behind the Iron Curtain, including Der Riss im Raum: Positionen der Kunst seit 1945 in Deutschland, Polen, Der Slowakei und Tschechien (Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin; Galerie Zacheta, Warsaw; Prague City Gallery, 1994), Aspects/Positions. 50 Years of Art in Central Europe 1949–1999 (Vienna, 1999; Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, 2000) and Global Conceptualism: Points of Origin, 1950–1980 (Queens Museum of Art, New York City, 1999). In 1996, Koller represented Slovakia at the 23rd São Paulo Biennial. In 2003, he had a solo exhibition in the Kölnischer Kunstverein in Cologne and in 2007 his work was included in the group exhibition Fluxus East: Fluxus-Netzwerke in Mitteleuropa (Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin; Šiuolaikinio meno centras / Contemporary Art Cetre, Vilnius; Ludwig Museum, Budapest). In recent years, Koller’s work has been featured in important thematic exhibitions focusing on the avantgarde art of the second half of the twentieth century held in Vienna (The Death of the Audience, Wiener Secession, 2014), New York City (Report on the Construction of a Spaceship Module, New Museum, 2014), Brussels (Facing the Future: Art in Europe 1945–1968, BOZAR – Palais des Beaux-Art / Paleis voor Schone Kunsten / Centre for Fine Arts, 2016) and Karlsruhe (Kunst in Europa 1945–1968: Die Zukunft im Blick / Art in Europe 1945–1968: Facing the Future, Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM), 2017). His most recent retrospective, titled One Man Anti-Show, was held at the Mumok in Vienna (Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien) between 2016 and 2017. Following his death, Koller’s estate is currently managed by the Slovak National Gallery and the First Slovak Investment Group. A large part of his work is thus permanently displayed at the recently opened Julius Koller’s Anti-Museum (managed by The Július Koller Society). Koller’s work is also held in the collections of institutions such as the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Gallery in London, the Generali Foundation in Vienna, La Collection du Musée National d´Art Moderne in Paris, Collección Jumex in Mexico, the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, the Kontakt Art Collection in Vienna, the National Gallery Prague, and the Moravian Gallery in Brno (which holds the collection of Jiří Valoch).
