Jiří Kornatovský

devotes his time to various painting and drawing techniques, which in a certain way he innovates and turns certain outdated ideas on their usage upside down. The most visible consequence of this work are shifts in the area of formats and scales (of his) works.

The domain of his drawings are no longer small-format sketches, but rather monumental surfaces that were traditionally reserved for pre-modern painting (perhaps from the Salons circuit) or for the biggest realisation of modern and post-modern paintings. Kornatovský’s drawings often attain lengths of five metres, which understandably reflects itself in their expression and in their relationship to the viewer. The larger-than-life size of the shapes simplifies communications with the viewer; it catches their attention and creates an almost physical space. The nature of the drawings, where the plastic volume and dynamic rotation is emphasised, heightens the impression made by their physical presence.

The rotating structure of the (pencil) stroke corresponds with the artist’s primary theme, which represents spiritual movement. This spiritual activity is referenced from traditional forms of transcendental experience: meditation, prayer. Kornatovský also incorporated this spiritual aspect into the programme of his periodical symposium, Hermit. This event took place in the 1990s in Kornatovský’s native Plasy. Kornatovský generally creates his large-format drawings by using a charcoal-on-cardboard technique. For smaller formats he uses a graphite pencil or small pen. These techniques allow him to best follow the chosen rhythm and dynamic of the drawing. The drawing here is foremost a record of its creation, not a shape composition with a random means of implementation. To a certain degree it concerns documentation of an event. The event has a psycho-physical character and is meant for a private space and not for the public. The artist is not concerned primarily by representation; the catalogue of his shapes and methods remain more of less constant for the long-term. It is not about the diversity of images and their individual messages. Kornatovský focuses on continuity, repeating events in an almost ritual manner. Here the focus is on a certain maintenance of events‘ order in a cyclical rhythm (i.e. archetypal or mythic) of time.