13 Jun 2012

Karol Pichler TIME-SQUARES at Faica Gallery, Bratislava

Karol Pichler's project TIME-SQUARES, created for the FAICA gallery, curated by Lýdia Pribišová, is about the exploration of time and the way we personally perceive it. To accomplish this, the artist created interactive situations connected to the perception of time. Interactivity is the central element of this show and through which the works will come to life. Another key element, a working tool and as well, a theme of Pichler's exhibition, is communication, as he provides a view of the visitor's inner 'self' and priorities. Using the existing divisions of the FAICA's Gallery space, Karol Pichler presents three situations, in time and space utilizing the past, present and future. As the time is determined by space and vice versa, this 'self-searching' will happen in each of the different spaces. Each gallery room has a table, a play-field of interaction and a metaphoric buffet available to visitors.

Each of these notions of time is presented in vivo in their own independent space. The central room is dedicated to the Present. The Future is on the left and Past is on the right. In the Present, the visitor can make a phone call and reach the most important person for him or her anywhere in the world and pass along a note/message, but in limited time in order to be aware of the moment and of the passing of the time. Pichler works here with the emotive perception of the moment of freedom and responsibility. The room dedicated to the Future connects art with an atavistic way of communicating. Visitors have an opportunity to see the future through a professional fortune teller. In the third room dedicated to the Past, visitors are asked to tell their own story, using templates on the table. Karol Pichler asks visitors to review their own life journey, using common tools and techniques.


Karol Pichler, born in 1957 in Bratislava, lives and works in v Rio de Janeiro and on the road. Selected solo shows: 2010: Nitra Gallery, Nitra, Slovakia; 2009: Centro Cultural Justiça Federal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 2009: Praia do Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 2008: ComprArte, Praia do Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 2008: Parque das Ruinas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Selected group shows: 2012, DELETE, Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia; 2011: PragueBiennale, Praha; 2011: Diorama – Videoarte Eslovaca, Diorama Oi Futuro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 2010: Boundaries of Geometry, Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava; 2010: Segment, Gallery Medium, Bratislava, 2009: Eighties, Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava, 2009: Fiction / Lectures performées, Fondation d'Entreprise Ricard, Paris; 2008: 1960-Present, City Gallery, Prague.