Václav Kopecký / Always Now

Burgrave’s house at Klenová castle
24. 3. - 26. 5. 20024

There is no dispute that the photographic image pulls us into memories, into the past, or that photography confronts us with at least three timelines – the past as captured by the image, the date the actual photographic artifact was produced, and the present day. The past and the future are a projection of our mind in the here and now. Always Now.

A ship maneuvering across the ocean, a cyclist falling from his bike, boys playing ice hockey. The decisive moment – one photograph that encapsulates an entire story. As observer, the photographer both photographs and watches a situation. The decisive moment imprints itself in our memory. Of particular importance are the angle of view and the photographer’s choice as to what is captured by the photograph and what remains outside the viewfinder.

The leitmotif of Always Now is the rotation of a ball frozen in time near two planes – an object in a particular place at a particular time.

Czech artist Václav Kopecký (*1983) has long focused on exploring the photographic medium in terms of time, space, and material. His post-conceptual approach to this subject is most tangibly expressed through sophisticated exhibitions that sensitively respond to the surrounding space and venue. Kopecký is a graduate of the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague and the Faculty of Art and Design at J. E. Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, where he has headed the Studio of Applied Photography since 2020.

Exhibition curator: Petr Krátký