Kateřina Šťastná - Intervals of Presence

Feet touching the ground at regular intervals, footsteps, a passing figure stirring the air, a fleeting touch, the tension arising just before it, an inhale, an exhale, the awareness of one’s physical shell, the recognition of another person’s bodily presence, sleep and detachment from — or, conversely, immersion into — reality. The seed of lived presence. And its ever-changing nature.

How does our environment shape us, and how do we, in turn, unconsciously shape what surrounds us? With every step we leave an imprint; with every inhale we absorb part of the atmosphere around us, and with every exhale we release a part of ourselves back into it. Every encounter transforms both us and the person we meet. We pass one another, we meet, we dance around each other. We are shaped by our own reflection in others just as much as by the reflection appearing on the surface of water.

Through her work, Kateřina Šťastná responds to the space of Artium — a place where people pass by and come together, where a space of transit becomes a place to pause. Her works invite passersby to lift their heads and experience, beneath pulsating light and alongside monumental sculptures, a moment of closeness. A moment in which, within the whirl of dance, the dancers’ bodies merge and lose their distinct contours. Amid the greenery, visitors discover, together with the tilt of their own gaze toward the water’s surface, the silence connected to a sleeping figure. Fabric suspended in the heart of Artium, capturing the reflection of a body in water, sways with the surrounding environment, just as our inner selves tremble with every encounter with the essence of our own existence. Nearby, large-scale panels not only create an expanded frame for delicate embroideries, but also place the viewer into direct interaction with their immediate surroundings and their own physical presence.

And some encounters require one to bend down. To submit the body to the possibility of capturing, if only for a moment, the interaction of two figures rendered as reliefs. To adapt one’s body to the possibilities of encounters in new and unexpected contexts. Not merely to rush past, but to look patiently, to perceive, and to experience.

Kateřina Šťastná’s exhibition reveals responsibility through the ability to pause, to become aware of the world around us and the other living figures within it, to understand the significance of our own imprint, reflection, and the traces we leave behind. Through chance encounters, passing moments, patient understanding, and connection. Through understanding ourselves, our own bodies, our relationship to the world, to the people within it, and to the intervals of presence that shape our lives.

Kateřina Šťastná (*1996) initially studied photography at the Brno University of Technology before transitioning to sculpture. She began her master’s studies in Prague at the Academy of Fine Arts in the sculpture studio led by Lukáš Rittstein and completed them under the guidance of Tomáš Hlavina and Jimena Mendoza. During her studies, she completed artistic residencies in Milan at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, in Tallinn, at a ceramics symposium in Barcelona, and at the De Mains De Maîtres contemporary craft biennial in Luxembourg. In her work, she explores the relationships and connections arising from the physical existence of our bodies. She is interested in how we unconsciously participate in transforming our immediate surroundings. To examine these themes, she works with sculpture, relief, drawing, and delicate embroidery on canvas. A stylized, simplified human figure frequently appears in her work, inspired by the idea of what breath might look like when defined by the shape of the human body. She has exhibited both in the Czech Republic and internationally. In Košice, a bronze sculpture for public space designed by Kateřina Šťastná was realized for the company Telegrafia.

Exhibition curator: Anna Pulkertová