EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS

The exhibition of Origami and Tangram by Lenka Husáriková is inspired by historical elements from non-European cultural traditions. Origami originates from Japan, while Tangram emerged in China. Over time, both became widely embraced and are now considered part of the world’s cultural heritage.

The interest in these two sources of inspiration came suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, yet it was a logical outcome of everything that preceded it. Perhaps it was due to a fortunate coincidence and the artist’s intuition—both of which are integral to the world of art. It was a period of creative dissatisfaction, a sense of being stuck in a loop. Her painting had been marked by an illusory precision, a pursuit of optical perfection, meticulous brushwork, and a carefully calculated color composition, employing technically and technologically sophisticated painting processes. However, this approach ultimately led to repetition of the same principles. Her work revolved around still life, landscapes, and figurative painting. Then, suddenly—though, to be precise, it was a gradual transition—came a turning point. The aforementioned "bolt from the blue" was, of course, a moment of sudden enlightenment, which often unfolds in mere seconds.

The former "Old Master-style" and illusory pictorial compositions, focused on the interplay of light and shadow, color, and optical laws, emphasizing the materiality of depicted subjects and objects, gradually shifted toward a different formal direction. They retained their precision but abandoned the depiction of the external real world in favor of fundamental abstract geometric forms (influenced by origami and tangram). Husáriková progressively liberated herself from slavish transcription of reality, visually and analogically transitioning toward a different approach. Instead of constructing pictorial narratives from real objects, she now assembles meaningful realities using simple geometric forms—creating a new visual language with its own objectivity and narrative.

Her focus has shifted toward a broader and freer conceptualization of themes. A unified idea is achieved through intellectual synthesis, preceded by a thorough and reductive analysis. This synthesis can be perceived not only in a literary sense (a boat with fishermen) but also in an objective and static way, similar to church stained-glass windows (individual origami objects). This moment marks the artist’s catharsis—coming to terms with her previous work and, perhaps, reconciling with the artistic legacy of her grandmother, painter Jindra Husáriková, who explored similar formal and thematic relationships, albeit in a different context and time.

By acknowledging narrative symbolism through an analyzed historical tradition, Lenka Husáriková unveils her personal fascination with creation and experimentation—forces that propel her forward. This opens up new possibilities and, most importantly, instills faith and strength for further artistic endeavors.

It is perhaps no coincidence that she seeks inspiration outside of the European painting tradition, delving into prehistoric Japan and ancient China. She admires the Old Masters—the psychological and formal approach that has accompanied art from the Renaissance to the 1960s, which once dictated her own artistic direction. Constantly striving to refine her vision and observation of nature, drawing on personal experience and the cultural legacy of past generations, she has sought her own form of artistic expression.

And perhaps it is no coincidence that the final stage of this evolution—post-war American abstraction of the 20th century—shares a strong connection (in its geometric abstraction) with the cultural traditions of origami and tangram. However, for Lenka Husáriková, it was more merciful to reach back to the ancient tradition, precisely because she has painted the Old Masters—a journey that, paradoxically, led her to its very conclusion.