Karel Štědrý is a successful Czech painter, one of the main representatives of contemporary geometric abstraction. He came to Israel for the opening of the Acid Haus exhibition, where he is displaying his paintings alongside the Slovak artist Ján Vasilko. In an interview, Štědrý describes how he felt about the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and what further plans he has in the Holy Land.
What was your first impression of Israel? One of my first impressions of Israel was the airport. In Turkey. I was transferring in the Turkish city of Antalya, and I didn't know if I could catch the plane. When I ran to the gate at the last minute and was relieved to find that I would make my flight, I looked around and realized how the character of the passengers had changed. I began to look forward to what I would see.
So, what were the first thoughts after arriving in Israel? The usual feeling of uncertainty from an unfamiliar environment, the heat, great expectations, because I had never been here before but had heard a lot from friends who had already visited Israel. At the same time, I got nervous. I did not want to waste my stay in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, I wanted to explore these two cities as much as possible. Robert Mikoláš (Director of the Czech House in Jerusalem - ed.), who hosted me in his home, helped me to orient myself both in the layout of the cities and in the mentality of the local people and their traditions. And so gradually everything started to open up to me and I began to feel almost like at home.
What do you like or dislike about Tel Aviv? Because a lot of my friends were here, I had high expectations. I tried to notice the things they liked, considering that everyone was looking at something different. Some of them liked the urban dynamics and vibes, others liked the history and architecture. In general, I had the same feelings and impressions as them. Tel Aviv, where I spent most of my time, grew on me in those few days. It has a great genius loci. It is a mixture of all kinds of things.
How is it different from Prague, for example? I suppose that because Tel Aviv has not been developing as long and systematically as Prague, its structure is different. For example, it doesn't have a distinct historical center and a unifying historical pattern. Instead, it has a livelier character, it is less slick, has a different dynamic and is changing faster. And the lifestyle of its inhabitants corresponds to this.
You work with architectural elements in your paintings. Have you found any inspiration in Tel Aviv in this respect? I have not been in Tel Aviv long enough to make a relevant assessment. It is more about momentary impressions. I was surprised that there are a lot of brutalist buildings that I knew from books, but I never realized that they are in Tel Aviv. Then there's also a large concentration of Bauhaus architecture, which I've always been very interested in. It is an art school that had a major impact on European art, design and architecture in the second half of the 20th century. It was a specific style of perceiving visual forms and reducing them so that they could be applied to industrial design and architecture. The influence of the Bauhaus is visible here at almost every corner and has given the city its specific identity. What's nice about all this is that even though there are several iconic buildings, there are also houses that are naturally integrated into the structure of the city. It's simply part of the everyday life of the locals. It doesn't create a preserved open-air museum from which sooner or later the natural cycle of urban life will disappear and will be replaced by tourism. I find that interesting.
Did you choose the paintings for the Acid Haus considering the fact that it is an exhibition in Israel? When joint exhibitions are organized, it is important to have a curator who should give the exhibition a theoretical framework. In this case, it was Vladimir Beskid who selected the paintings, trying to make sure that the works resonated together and in the given environment.
Do you think he succeeded? I think he did. When we hung the paintings and then went through it together, we were pleasantly surprised that although our forms are close and have a similar visual style and compositional structure, they also look very different. I think it is always easier to juxtapose contrasts than similarities. We both have our specific handwriting, but we come from similar backgrounds, like geometric abstraction, constructivism, and the Russian avant-garde. We have the same fundamentals but a different language, and I think it works nicely together.
Do you plan to return to Israel again? Yes, I have actually been offered a month-long internship at the Slovak Institute in Jerusalem. I'm really looking forward to it because the city fascinates me, and you can't get to know it in one week. I also think I will come back during the duration of the Acid Haus exhibition, because I would like to show it to some people who like my stuff.
If there was something you could bring from here to the Czech Republic, even something intangible, abstract, what would it be? What I think is missing in the Czech Republic is a way of thinking, a certain perspective that is felt in Israel despite the ever-present conflict that can escalate and be devastating at any time. People are able to let go of fear, to live their own lives and enjoy them, even though they might be full of grievances and hatreds that are often rooted in historical events. In short, they think constructively, not destructively. I think that in the Czech Republic, where we live in such an idyll, where we can choke on salami, drown in beer, and have a total peace, we lack such insight. We just have luxurious problems.
Author: Dana Keren, Sára Mazúchová
