Ondřej Basjuk
Zátiší koule a banán
Artist
Ondřej Basjuk
(1983, Domažlice), Czech
Original Title
Zátiší koule a banán
Date2015
Mediumacrylic on canvas
Dimensions110 × 150 cm
Classificationspaintings
Credit LineKunsthalle Praha
DescriptionOndřej Basjuk’s work is defined by a conceptual intermedia approach and a thorough mastery of painting which he tends to combine with readymades, site-specific installations, video, photography, and graphic design. His artistic persona can be seen as that of a visual explorer engaging with narration and mystification while also pursuing an interest in redefining painting and its legacy. His work often draws on personal experiences, historic and scientific knowledge, and adventurous, travelogue-like elements stemming from his interest in different civilizations, Jules Verne’s adventure novels, and Zdeněk Burian’s illustrations. In his quasi-archeological approach, Basjuk explores questions of aesthetics, history, and society. In his more recent work, he also reflects on the changing political climate and shifting societal opinions and values caused by the threats of dominant contemporary ideologies, thus fusing both critical and romantic elements in his artworks. His paintings are marked by meticulous technique and a simple black-and-white color palette with occasional dashes of color. Basjuk views the medium and history of painting as a treasure box of styles, themes, and artistic approaches, which can be freely experimented with and developed for use in his distinctive visual narratives. Some of his works betray a fascination with untraditional materials, which he uses as a base layer for his paintings and a means of exploring the boundaries between painting and objects.
Still life with a Sphere and a Banana (2015) depicts the items in its title placed on a marble ledge. It is an adaptation of renaissance still lifes, which engage with the illusiveness of the objects they portray. This genre provides Basjuk the space to experiment with photorealism. The attempt to accurately paint the texture of marble is linked to his interest in archeology and the legacies of classical European cultural heritage. The window view into a landscape, a traditional renaissance motif, is substituted by a tangle of gestural yet rationally executed brushstrokes which form an impenetrable snarl, denying the anticipated spatiality. This can also be understood as a critique of the supposed uniqueness of the painterly gesture, with this idea’s prominence in the history of painting well-known to Basjuk.
Ondřej Basjuk (*1983, Domažlice) lives and works in Prague. He studied book design as well as media illustration and didactic illustration in the Laislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Arts at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. Subsequently, he studied graphic design in Vladimír Kokolia’s studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. In 2013, he received second place in the Critics’ Prize for Young Painting. He regularly exhibits at independent galleries and larger institutions around the Czech Republic. He has solo shows, for instance, at the Gallery of Modern Art in Roudnice nad Labem (2018) and the White Unicorn Gallery in Klatovy (2020).
Still life with a Sphere and a Banana (2015) depicts the items in its title placed on a marble ledge. It is an adaptation of renaissance still lifes, which engage with the illusiveness of the objects they portray. This genre provides Basjuk the space to experiment with photorealism. The attempt to accurately paint the texture of marble is linked to his interest in archeology and the legacies of classical European cultural heritage. The window view into a landscape, a traditional renaissance motif, is substituted by a tangle of gestural yet rationally executed brushstrokes which form an impenetrable snarl, denying the anticipated spatiality. This can also be understood as a critique of the supposed uniqueness of the painterly gesture, with this idea’s prominence in the history of painting well-known to Basjuk.
Ondřej Basjuk (*1983, Domažlice) lives and works in Prague. He studied book design as well as media illustration and didactic illustration in the Laislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Arts at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. Subsequently, he studied graphic design in Vladimír Kokolia’s studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. In 2013, he received second place in the Critics’ Prize for Young Painting. He regularly exhibits at independent galleries and larger institutions around the Czech Republic. He has solo shows, for instance, at the Gallery of Modern Art in Roudnice nad Labem (2018) and the White Unicorn Gallery in Klatovy (2020).
