Irena Křivánková

The exhibition Ikariana presents a self-contained series of interconnected, thematically linked final paintings by Irena Křivánková, concerned with the extreme moments of human life. Conceived as a dramatic, continuous journey with its own beginning, climax and conclusion, it follows a depicted female body as it passes through pivotal experiences of self-loss, inner reflection, detachment from earthly life, and eventual rebirth and reconciliation. It is a personal statement in which the artist identifies with the painted figure, lending it her own features and thereby becoming the principal protagonist of her paintings. The heroine of these works has undergone experiences of disembodiment, unfolding on the threshold of light and darkness as an age-old inner struggle for purification. Irena Křivánková studied figurative monumental painting in the studio of Prof. J. Načeradský, graduating in 1999 from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Brno University of Technology. She then moved to Prague, where she today works in her studio in Karlín. She has been an active presence in the art world for more than twenty years. In addition to being an outstanding painter and draughtswoman, she is also the creator of several works for film and theatre. In recent years she worked, for example, on H. Bočan's film Poslední sezóna, I. Pavlásková's Bestiář, K. Smyczek's Dobrá čtvrť, and M. Herz's documentary Lucka a život jak ho žít, among others. She also contributed to the acclaimed international series The Borgias, directed by O. Hirschbiegel, the Academy Award-winning film La Vie en Rose (Édith Piaf), directed by O. Dahan, The Three Musketeers by P. Aknine, and the film Lovers in Prague, directed by Shin Woo Chul. For theatre, she created set designs for productions including Edith Piaf at the Palác Akropolis, paintings for the stage of Ornitologie for the Kašpar Theatre in Prague, and Pohádky z Dobráčkova at B. Polívka's theatre in Brno. In 2012 she created the artistic realisation of the interactive exhibition on the lower floor of U6 at Dolní Vítkovice in Ostrava. Irena Křivánková has a number of solo and group exhibitions behind her, and has participated in several residencies and symposia both in the Czech Republic and abroad. Since 2014 she has been working as an assistant professor in the Intermedia studio at the ART & DESIGN INSTITUT, Prague's first private university-level institution focused on the arts. www.krivankova.com

Karel Srp