Roman Ondak
Perfect Society
Artist
Roman Ondak
(1966, Žilina), Slovak
Original Title
Perfect Society
Date2019
Mediummodified heating, water and gas steel pipes
DimensionsØ 4,40 m × 12 cm
Classifications
installations
Credit LineKunsthalle Praha
Image Copyright
Photo © Andrea Rossetti
DescriptionRoman Ondak’s artistic practice is based on principles of relocation and duplication. His installations, performances, objects, and drawings commonly focus on the search for appropriate means of communicating an initial idea; the resultant form of expression is often marked by a performative dimension. His work, influenced by the legacies of conceptualism and minimalism, questions the functioning of society and institutions in today’s globalized world and reacts to the specific conditions of Central and Central-Eastern Europe. Ondak’s experience of life under the Communist regime made him vigilant toward political systems, understanding their strong influence on social behavior. He analyzes the failure of communism and searches for alternative social and political possibilities. His approach to these topics is indirect—he stirs the imagination of his viewers, giving them an opportunity to explore current societal conditions. His art combines mundane elements with poetic humor, providing space for the examination of established habits. Ondak often makes use of subtle interventions and incorporates active participation by viewers or selected individuals. His artistic interventions are based on slight manipulations of contexts, disrupting our conventional expectations and inviting us to recognize the functioning of the society and the system which surround us.
Perfect Society (2019) is a sizeable installation comprising heating pipes, water pipes, and gas pipes of different sizes assembled into a circular shape reminiscent of a sunflower. The pipes are more densely concentrated toward the center, with looser forms at the edges resembling petals. The meticulously arranged pipes also evoke the hexagonal cells of honeycombs. These visual similarities are not coincidental, as both bees and flowers gain energy from sunlight. The piece simultaneously represents society and its mutual interactions, and the way the pipes are organized also clearly thematizes social hierarchies. Perfect Society symbolizes uniformity and hierarchical order—the hopes and expectations invested in such a society are analogous to unrealistic, utopian visions and pose the threat of potentially catastrophic outcomes. The use of disused technical elements from a public building near Ondak’s studio conveys an aspect of potential hope rooted in the possibility of internal revision and the transformation of outdated structures.
Roman Ondak (*1966, Žilina) is an internationally acclaimed artist based in Bratislava. From 1988 to 1994, he studied painting and graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava. Later, he also attended study programs at the Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, the Helveticum in Zurich, and the CAA in Kitakyushu, Japan, and received the DAAD scholarship in Berlin. His work has been shown in numerous group exhibitions at institutions such as the Tate Modern in London, the MALBA in Buenos Aires, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, the MoMA PS1 in New York City, Kunsthalle Nurnberg, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the ICA, and the Frankfurter Kunstverein. He has also exhibited at numerous international biennials such as the 50th and 54th Venice Biennale (2004, 2011), the 5th Moscow Biennale (2013), the 5th Liverpool Biennial (2008), the 8th Art Biennial of Panama (2008), the 27th São Paulo Biennial, and 1st Prague Biennale (2003).
Perfect Society (2019) is a sizeable installation comprising heating pipes, water pipes, and gas pipes of different sizes assembled into a circular shape reminiscent of a sunflower. The pipes are more densely concentrated toward the center, with looser forms at the edges resembling petals. The meticulously arranged pipes also evoke the hexagonal cells of honeycombs. These visual similarities are not coincidental, as both bees and flowers gain energy from sunlight. The piece simultaneously represents society and its mutual interactions, and the way the pipes are organized also clearly thematizes social hierarchies. Perfect Society symbolizes uniformity and hierarchical order—the hopes and expectations invested in such a society are analogous to unrealistic, utopian visions and pose the threat of potentially catastrophic outcomes. The use of disused technical elements from a public building near Ondak’s studio conveys an aspect of potential hope rooted in the possibility of internal revision and the transformation of outdated structures.
Roman Ondak (*1966, Žilina) is an internationally acclaimed artist based in Bratislava. From 1988 to 1994, he studied painting and graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava. Later, he also attended study programs at the Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, the Helveticum in Zurich, and the CAA in Kitakyushu, Japan, and received the DAAD scholarship in Berlin. His work has been shown in numerous group exhibitions at institutions such as the Tate Modern in London, the MALBA in Buenos Aires, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, the MoMA PS1 in New York City, Kunsthalle Nurnberg, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the ICA, and the Frankfurter Kunstverein. He has also exhibited at numerous international biennials such as the 50th and 54th Venice Biennale (2004, 2011), the 5th Moscow Biennale (2013), the 5th Liverpool Biennial (2008), the 8th Art Biennial of Panama (2008), the 27th São Paulo Biennial, and 1st Prague Biennale (2003).
