Artlist — Center for Contemporary Arts Prague

Lucia Tkáčová

1977

Banská Štiavnica, Slovensko

Bratislava, Prague

There are many words we could use to describe the work of the creative duo comprising Anetta Mona Chisa, a Romanian artist who also works in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and the Slovak artist Lucia Tkáčová, but boring is not one of them. Since 2000 they have been collaborating on works that are simply articulated yet highly expressive. However, by no means does this imply shallowness. The focus of the artists on the gender and political aspects of the institutional level of the art scene and on the general societal context is accompanied by a sensitive, restrained distance, in which the humour and complexity of the issues together exceed the boundaries of purely ideological considerations.

In their older works, such as The Red Library (2005), in which they evaluate the male component of the Czech art scene from a purely sexist viewpoint, or the series of videos Dialectics of Subjection (2004-2006), which takes the form of a series of light-hearted dialogues between the artists on the topic of the masculine hierarchy of the art world and the sexual aspects of its actors, a significant feature of their work is the inversion of the active male subject and passive female erotic object. However, here this ironic game is also part of the artists’ striving for success and fame within the very system they criticise. Chisa and Tkáčová also deploy humour in another of their projects, which relates to institutional criticism. Since 2005, as part of the project Private collection, the collection in question contains many commonplace articles stolen by the artists from leading international galleries. What was originally an object with a certain use value becomes a “consecrated” exhibit in an exhibition by virtue of its provenance. Chisa and Tkáčová also reflect on political and economic themes, also sometimes relating to gender questions, as in When Labour Becomes Form (2007). Elsewhere, for instance in 80:20 (2011), their contribution to the Romanian pavilion at the Venice Biennale, they applied the Pareto Principle, which examines the unequal way that wealth is distributed in society, to the institutional aspects of their own participation in this event.

Over recent years the work of Chisa and Tkáčová has become more expressive and even monumental, while remaining based on a similar thematic, conceptual starting point as in the works above. Both the video Try again, Fail again, Fail better (2011), and the installation Either Way, We lose (2012) work with a monumental inflatable fist, the kind that is raised as a symbol of protest and rebellion. In the video it becomes a controlled and controlling puppet that drags its “puppeteers” around at least to the same extent as they drag it. This parable about the ambiguity between an image representing protest and its meaning tells us a lot about the long-term creative considerations of the artists linked with a dialectical understanding of the ideas and topics they present. Clearly this is also related to the “binary-uniqueness” they enjoy as a creative duo. This aspect of their work is exemplified in Vessel (i aM a venus, A conch, a kiT, a Cat, a Lot) (2012), at first sight a vase on which both artists worked, but in fact a bust with two faces.

Viktor Čech

2015

2006, Together with Lucie Tkáčová laureate Oskár Čepan Award
1994 – 2000 Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava

Monographs, Catalogues, Publications

Exhibitions and other Realisations

Solo Exhibitions

(s Annetou Monou Chisou)

2014
a ManuaL to hAck atavisTic oCean, P/art, Reeperbahn 110, Hamburg

2013
a Lack, A touch, an aTavisM, a notiCe, Hit gallery, Bratislava
aCtivaTe aMok, not a causaL chAin, waterside contemporary, London

2012
i aM a venus, A conch, a kiT, a Cat, a Lot, Rotwand gallery, Zurich
Either Way, We Lose, Sorry we’re closed, Brussels
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z (s Janou Želibskou), Make Up Gallery, Košice

2011
The Diplomatic Tent (s Ionem Grigorescu), Salonul de proiecte, Bucharest
Performing History, Romanian Pavilion (s Ionem Grigorescu), 54 Biennale di Venezia
Material Culture / Things in our Hands, Christine Koenig gallery, Vienna
The More You Tell Me, the Stronger I Can Hit, Tarsaskor gallery, Budapest

2010
How to Make a Revolution, MLAC, Rome
Far from You, Karlin Studios, Prague

2009
Wager, Collectiva gallery, Berlin
Fair Sex, Hermitage gallery, Chicago
Footnotes to Business, Footnotes to Pleasure, Christine Koenig gallery, Vienna

2008
Anetta Mona Chisa & Lucia Tkacova, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin
Blondes Must Be Stopped, Purple Room, Rome
Romantic Economies, Medium gallery, Bratislava

2006
Everything is Work, Tranzit, Bratislava
Magical Recipes for Love, Happiness and Health, f.a.i.t. gallery, Cracow
Ortografio de Potenco, Futura gallery, Prague
Man, Hero, Spirit, Machine, Medium gallery, Bratislava

2005
The Red Library, Jeleni gallery, Prague
Videosomic, Space gallery, Bratislava

2003
A Room of Their Own, Medium gallery, Bratislava

Group Exhibitions

2014
Mobile biennale 1, National Museum of Contemporary Art Bucharest
The iron curtain, Kunstsammlung, Linz
Who is the director?, 4+4 days in motion, Styblo palace, Prague
Afterimage. Rappresentazioni del conflitto, Galleria Civica, Trento
Parkfair – terminartor, Ehrenhalle, Vienna
Menagerie, or Artwork Not About Love, Elaine L. Jacob gallery, Detroit
RE002_We Were All Rocks Once, Sorbus-galleria, Helsinki
Audio Trouble, Centre d’art contemporain La Halle des bouchers, Vienne
Slovenske Narodne Povstanie, Kunsthalle Kosice
Intimity, Galerie Kai Erdmann, Hamburg
Work, Cyprian Majernik gallery, Bratislava
Bash II, Byrdcliffe’s Kleinert/James Gallery, Woodstock, New York
Power & Play, De Markten, Brussels
Unlooped-KINO, Manifesta 10, St Petersburg
La fureur de vivre, La Brasserie / Centre d’Art Contemporain, Foncquevillers
Kongress der Artikulation, Kunstraum Kreuzberg Bethanien, Berlin
WoWmen!, Kaaitheater, Brussel
Private Nationalism, Kunsthalle Kosice
FEMINismTC, urban space of Vienna
Time Pieces., Nordstern Videokunstzentrum, Gelsenkirchen
7.000.000.000, Espai d’art contemporani de Castello, Castello

2013
1848, Central Slovakian Gallery, Banska Bystrica
Art Video Lounge, Works from the Collection of the Video-Forum n.b.k., CONTEXT Art Miami 2013, Miami
Upside Down – let’s dance, Cultuurcentrum Strombeek, Strombeek-Bever
RE_001: First Communion of Anemic Young Girls in the Snow and other works, Interstate Projects, Brooklyn, New York
You always return to the water, Rotwand gallery, Zurich
Contextual art, Cyprian Majernik gallery, Bratislava
Bueroarbeit, Years, Copenhagen
Liquid Assets: In the Aftermath of the Transformation of Capital, Steirischer herbst, Graz
The Oracle: what is your prophecy for the future?, the Wand, Berlin
An I for an Eye, Austrian Cultural Forum New York
The Second Lore, CUAC – contemporary art, Salt Lake City
Good Girls_Memory, Desire, Power, National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC), Bucharest
Negative Capability, Galleria Enrico Astuni, Bologna
In This Pavilion One Can See Art, tranzit.ro, Bucharest
10 Jahre Lentos, Lentos Art Museum, Linz
Minimal Compact, Christine Koenig gallery, Vienna
Qual & Wahl, Kunstverein Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg
There must be order – Nine artists from Central Europe, Viafarini DOCVA, Milan
S’Long As It’s Yours, Gallery Aferro, Newark
Clash!, Art in General, New York

2012
What Does a Drawing Want?, Beirut, Cairo
Down on Mainstream, Cultuurcentrum Strombeek, Strombeek-Bever
P L A Y_N A T U R E_W O R K_F U T U R E, Tschechisches Zentrum Berlin
Drifting Identities, Museum of Zemstvo, Chisinau
The Real Emotions, National Art Museum Cluj, Cluj-Napoca
Present Unlimited, Fabrika 126, Sofia
Vermessung des Donauraumes. Positionen aktueller Kunst., Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg
In 15 min everyone will be in the future, Turkish bath, Plovdiv
Body Language – works from the Fotomuseum Winterthur Collection, Centre culturel suisse, Paris
Ready, Set, Go!, Nitra gallery, Nitra
Artists Film International, Whitechapel Gallery, London
3rd Moscow International Biennale for Young Art, Moscow
Beautiful Game, City Art gallery of Ljubljana
The Circus Crew, LARMgalleri, Copenhagen
DOMESTICating, erg’s gallery, Brussels
Doppio gioco – Double Game. The Ambiguity of the Photographic Image, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice
Care Crisis, Futura gallery, Prague
Exit Order – New Situation, Glockengasse No9, Vienna
Demonstrations. Making Normative Orders, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt
Rearview Mirror, Art Gallery of Alberta, Alberta

2011
ironapplaus.net, Slovak National gallery, Bratislava
Eyes Looking for a Head to Inhabit, Muzeum Sztuki Lodz
The Global Contemporary, ZKM | Museum fue Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe
The 29th Biennial of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, The International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana
Zeroth Years, Povazska gallery – Museum of Art Zilina
In Between Frames, MNAC, Bucuresti
Rearview Mirror, The Power Plant – Contemporary Art gallery, Toronto
The Bergen Accords, Hordaland Art Centre, Bergen
Uber Dinge, Kunsthaus Muerz, MĂĽrzzuschlag
Models For Taking Part, Presentation House gallery, Vancouver

2010
Hard to Sell, Good to Have, Palais Sturany, Vienna
Figura cuncta videntis (the all-seeing eye) / Homage to Christoph Schlingensief, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna
Transition Times – Art video d’Europe centrale, Paris Photo 2010
There Has Been No Future, There Will Be No Past, ISCP, New York
Erased Walls, Mediations Biennale Poznan
First Ural Industrial Biennial, Shockworkers of the Mobile Image, Ekaterinburg
As You Desire Me, Contemporary Art Gallery of Brukenthal Museum, Sibiu
Beyond Credit, Sanat Limani, Istanbul
Over the Counter – The Phenomena of Post-socialist Economy in Contemporary Art, Mucsarnok Kunsthalle, Budapest
Videodrome, Autocenter, Berlin
Curated by_Vienna 2010 / Art&Film, Christine Koenig gallery, Vienna
Starter – Works from the Vehbi Koc Foundation Contemporary Art Collection, ARTER – space for art, Istanbul
Gender Check, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
The artist in the (art) society, Motorenhalle, Dresden
The Atrocity Exhibition, Feinkost gallery, Berlin
While Bodies Get Mirrored, Migros Museum fur Gegenwartskunst, Zurich
Cinema X: I Like to Watch, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto
The Romance of my Young Days, the Future of my Nostalgia, Central Slovakian gallery, Banska Bystrica
History, Memory, Identity: contemporary photography from Eastern Europe, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena

2009
Formats of Transformation 89 – 09, Brno House of Arts / Museum auf Abruf, Vienna
Communism never Happend, Feinkost gallery, Berlin
Until the End of the World, AMP Gallery, Athens
The Reach of Realism, Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami
Gender Check, MUMOK Vienna
Totale Erinnerung, Fotofestival Mannheim Ludwigshafen Heidelberg
Donumenta, Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg
Don’t Worry It’s Only Money, City Art Rooms, Auckland, New Zealand
Der Schnitt durch die Oberflache legt neue Oberflachen frei, Temporary gallery Cologne
One day I will be a Star, Maison du Livre, de l’Image et du Son, Francois Mitterrand, Villeurbanne
The Making of Art, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
Working Memory, Tranzit, Bratislava
Art Unlimited, Basel
Things and Thoughts, Collectiva gallery, Berlin

2008
Young Artists’ Biennial, Bucharest
6th Taipei Biennial, Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Manual CC – Instructions for Beginners and Advanced Players, uqbar, Berlin
All about Museum, Slovak National gallery, Bratislava
Petit Histoires, Espace Apollonia, Strasbourg
EL Gabinete Checo, Czech Centre Madrid
Do Something Different, Barbican Centre, London
L’Art en Europe, Domaine Pommery, Reims
The Way Things Are … Works from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Collection, Centre of Contemporary Art, Torun
Flowers of Our Lives, Centre of Contemporary Art, Torun

2007
GDP, M’ars Gallery, Moscow
L’Europe en devenir, Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris
Equal Opportunities, C2C gallery, Prague
Humor Works, Skuc gallery, Ljubljana
Public art Bucharest
Bad Beuys Entertainment, Boling, Bruno, Chisa & Tkacova, collectif fact, Matsoukis, Mirza, PrĂ©vieux, Rungjang, Zucconi, Galerie West, Hague
Bio Power, Medium Gallery, Bratislava
Shooting Back, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna
GDP, Municipal gallery, Prague
Prague Biennale 3, Karlin Hall, Prague
The Space Between, The Daryl Roth Theatre, New York
New Video Art from Central Europe: Art Power, RISD Museum, Providence
Locus Solus (talks of inanimate reason at the country estate), Myto, Mexico City
"art world etiquette", ThreeWalls, Chicago
The Collection, Trafo gallery, Budapest
Partners in Crime, gallery MC, New York
Culture Clash, Bastard gallery, Oslo

2006
Transfer, Muzej savremene likovne umetnosti, Novi Sad
YVAA, The Kosova Art Gallery, Prishtina
Arrivals>Slovakia, Turner Contemporary, Margate
Marketenderin. Giveaways und Performances, Hartware MedienKunstVerein, Dortmund
Runaway, Space Gallery, Bratislava
Kuba: Journey Against the Current, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna
Shadows of Humor, BWA Awangarda, Wroclaw
Keine Wunderkammer, Hit gallery, Bratislava
My Love is Dead, gallery Oel-Fruh, Hamburg
Innenansicht, Kunstraum NOE, Vienna
Frisbee, Dum panu z Kunstatu, Brno

2005
The Artist With Two Brains, NAB – Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham
It Happenned Elsewhere, Vision Center, Cork
Prague Biennale 2, Karlin Hall, Prague
Iconoclash, The Spitz Gallery, London
RE-SHUFFLE: Notions of an Itinerant Museum, Art in General, New York

Artwork