ART works - Viktor Frešo

UNTITLED NOW

Untitled Now (ass mann), 2020, 100x40x40 cm

Untitled Now (Drumer), 2020, 230x100x100 cm

Untitled Now (Light mann), 2020, 190x80x80 cm

Untitled Now (Angrinitto), 2020, 120x40x35cm

Untitled Now (chromy), 2020, 120x100x45cm

Untitled Now (head), 2020, 80x180x80cm

Untitled Now (snowmann), 2020, 180x100x100cm

Family Vintage

Vaze

Vase 05, 2016, mixed media, 75 × 60 × 45 cm

Vase 01, 2016, mixed media, 32 × 65 × 40 cm

Vase 03, 2016, mixed media, 32 × 70 × 40 cm

Vases — In the Vases project, Frešo makes his own distinctive response to the line of destroying original cultural legacies and creating new ones, probably most clearly legible in Ai Weiwei’s gestures of breaking precious Chinese urns (Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, 1995/2009) and defacing neolithic Chinese vases by dipping them in industrial paint (Colored Vases, 2007/2010). One may see these as parallels, formally and significantly, to Frešo’s recent series of objects, where, like Ai Weiwei, he uses vessels/vases as ready-mades and deprives them of their original aura through physical intervention. Here, however, the parallel ends. Frešo takes vases as an archetypal medium of visual art culture, bearing socio-historical meanings, whose origins and dates of production vary. He fills them with bitumen and, in a performative act, deforms them with one irreversible sweep of a machete. It remains ‘frozen’ at the limiting moment of climactic physical effort with the substance spilling out and congealing at the same time. The time-bounded processuality of the work is realised at the moment when the sculpture ‘cools’ and a new authentic artefact comes about with the artist’s signature: an abstract object with a new aura, exhibited in a different system of values. The original cultural-significant deposits have been replaced by new ones. Here Frešo is working with apparent references to multiculturalism (Chinese vases, Modra ceramics), weapons (machete), and indeed violence (a physical act in which one must exert force), and associated with that, above all he is referring to the tensions and ambiguous attitudes present in contemporary society (and their possible culminations). However, he does not adopt any specific attitude or discernible standpoint. On the contrary, he approaches the process with clear impartiality, indeed with a playfulness from the position of a kind of primal artist, destroyer and creator in one, with an elemental will to art

Elevators

Elevators 01, 2015, mixed media, 220 × 100 × 120 cm.OBJECTIVE. View of the Installation: Kunsthalle Bratislava, Curator Vladimir Beskid

Stop Eastern European Conceptual Art!, 2015, mixed media, installation on Town Hall Square From White Night, Bratislava

Elevator 01, 2015, mixed media, 220 × 100 × 120 cm

Stop Eastern European Conceptual Art!, 2015, mixed media, View of the installation DOX, Prague

Stop Eastern European Conceptual Art! — The title testifies to the artist’s belief that the conceptual or rather postconceptual art of ‘Eastern Europe’ has

burnt itself out, or exhausted its artistic procedures. After coming to the conclusion that it would be a waste of time to produce further plagiarisms

of its countless forms, he resolved to bring this line in his work to a definitive conclusion. The post-Duchamp concept of elevating lift cabins to the

position of an art installation (an environment from cabins – objects deprived of their functionality) is to a certain extent a parody on the genre,

using that genre’s own means and its own instruments and methods. The lift is not only a metaphor of the rise and fall (of post-conceptual art);

it is also a symbol/object which numerous artists have worked with and continue to do so today. By placing the cabins on castors the artist made

their original upward and downward movement impossible, but enabled movement in horizontal directions; he barred the viewers from stepping inside,

leaving them only the opportunity of a voyeur-like peep into an evacuated lighted space (white-cube?). The feeling of inaccessibility, and a certain

sacredness associated with it, is enhanced by the consumerist attribute of the installation: muzak. That is to say, the psychologically heightened

feel-good music playing in shopping centres, lobby foyers, hotel lifts and administrative buildings, whose aim is to induce a mood that will enhance

purchasing capacity or work performance.

Sound Core

Sound Core 01, 2017, mixed media, 240 × 300 × 160 cm

Sound Core 03 (detail), 2017, mixed media, 235 × 60 × 60 cm

Sound Core 02, 2017, mixed media, 235 × 60 × 60 cm

Gyros 01, 2016, mixed media, 220 × 110 × 110 cm From the exhibition Time After Time, MeetFactory Gallery, Prague

Striptease, 2017, mixed media, 220 × 100 × 100 cm From the exhibition Radislav Matuštík Stipend 2017: Mass Media Images of Women, Bratislava City Gallery – Pálffy Palace, Bratislava

Overheads

Mega Viki (FECI)

Mega Viki (feci) | 700 x 700 x 700 cm, 2018

Mega Viki (feci) is a large, glowing balloon with a basic drawing of eyes and mouth – a self-mocking and irreverent work about the artist’s ego. Frešo meant it as his self-portrait, and the similarity to his facial features is indeed striking. The title itself is also a play on the author’s name, whose works often refer to feminist themes, contrarily showing them from a man’s perspective: Viki is a popular diminutive of the female name Viktoria (employed both in Poland and Frešo’s native Slovakia). The simple, graphic drawing of the eyes and round lips on the luminous balloon resembles traditional Japanese kokeshi dolls. Their history dates back to the middle of the Edo era, when they became popular gifts for children in the northern region of Japan (Tōhoku). The dolls were made of wood and drawn by hand, their head was enlarged with respect to the torso, and the face featured small lips and eyes marked with two strokes. Kokeshi symbolized youth, girlish beauty, and the innocence of childhood; they were meant to bring luck and divine protection to their owners, and were often given on the occasion of a child’s birth. These dolls are still a popular element of Japanese culture, with swarms of fans and collectors worldwide.

Birth of the Niemand

Birth of the Niemand

Birth of the Niemand (20), 2015, polyurethane, 95 × 240 × 350 cm, Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum collection

Birth of the Niemand (16), 2018, polyurethane, 210 × 700 × 700 cm, edition of 6

angry boy

Angry Boy, 2017, polyester, 350 × 150 × 150 cm, edition of 5 Monumenta 2018, Leipzig

Angry Boy, 2017, polyester, 350 × 150 × 150 cm, edition of 5 Cologne

Angry Boy, 2017, polyester, 350 × 150 × 150 cm, edition of 5

NIEMAND (Picus)

Pičus / Niemand, 2014, polyurethane, 95 × 35 × 35 cm, edition of 36

“Pičus”, Niemand

A statuette of a small man with a disproportionate figure and arrogant angry expression on his face. The figure is divided roughly into three-thirds, each of them representing one part of the body - head, torso and legs. Exactly this oversimplified division creates the seeming anatomical mismatch and his huge head at first glance looks ridiculously. This is a brief characteristicsof the statue of "Pičus" which has become very popular among art collectors, art historians, as well as the non-professionalpublic. It is difficult to translate the name "Pičus", but it is a man at the boundary between ridiculous, foxy and at the same time insidiousson of a bitch, full of complexes but also a self-important arrogant bastard, such as annoys you often in real life. One of the most pregnanttranslations is "Niemand".

Just as it is difficult to translate the name exactly, it is also difficult to describe the whole mix of emotions raised by this statueand in particular represented by it. The already mentioned arrogance, negativism, inferiority complex, meanness and malicious unhealthy self-importance. The essence of negative emotions that people try to hide all their life,occurs in the about one-meterhigh figure, which completes his insignificance even by his small penis. This series of emotions paradoxically evokes the sense of ridiculousness, his insignificant importanceand arrogance.

The author Viktor Frešo in his work often deals with boundary emotions, consciously raises debates about stereotypes of perception of art and values of artistic operation. In the statue of Pičus,he has redirected this strategy into human characteristics that resemble the series of seven original sins not by chance.

"I have always been fascinated by people with big head, they seemed exceptional to me and their energy had a very pleasant effect on me," the author commented on the history of the “Pičus” sculpture. In the nineties,this trivial reason initiated the first oil paintings of people with a big head and a similar expression as that on the face of the “Pičus” statue. Later, in 2011, its 3D version appeared as a bust in the City Gallery of Košice named MONGY. In 2013,Pičus was for the first time presented as a whole body sculpture at the Bea City Beats festival, where during the concerts it stood on the podium alongside world stars. It is interesting to see how Pičus finds a wide range of fans, although it's actually a little man presenting a series of negative emotions.

VIKI

Viki (B0N), 2016, mixed media, 48 × 48 × 48 cm, edition of 6

Viki (CCN), 2016, mixed media, 48 × 48 × 48 cm, edition of 6

Viki (B0N), 2016, mixed media, 48 × 48 × 48 cm, edition of 6

Overheads

Gebuľka, 2016, polyester, 98 × 60 × 90 cm, edition of 6

Gebuľka, 2016, polyester, 98 × 60 × 90 cm, edition of 6 From the exhibition Viktor Frešo: Now, 2017, DSC Gallery, Prague

I Woman, 2017, mixed media, 105 × 35 × 35 cm

Rastík, 2016, acrystal, 55 × 27 × 35 cm

Braňo Zámečník, 2016, mixed media, 210 × 100 × 50 cm

NanoFace (M22HTG1620), 2016, mixed media, 120 × 60 × 70 cm

Fiďko, 2016, acrystal, 175 × 105 × 90 cm From the exhibition Overheads, 2017, Nedbalka Gallery, 2017 he

Boženka, 2016, mixed media, 140 × 50 × 50 cm, edition of 3

Teodor Pyštek, 2017, acrystal, 100 × 35 × 45 cm some

George (detail), 2016, mixed media, 170 × 55 × 55 cm

Ivan, 2016, plastic, 42 × 27 × 30 cm Rastík

Ready for, 2001 – 2016, mixed media, 120 × 35 × 50 cm

NanoFace, 2016, plastic, 85 × 60 × 70 cm

NanoFace (C25ENZ1620), 2016, mixed media, 100 × 80 × 25 cm, edition of 3

Cargo, 2017, mixed media, 169 × 79 × 70 cm

From left: George, 2016, mixed media, 170 × 55 × 55 cm; Teodor Pyštek, 2017, acrystal, 100 × 35 × 45 cm From the exhibition Overheads, 2016 – 2017, Nedbalka Gallery, Bratislava

From left: Braňo Zámečník, 2016, mixed media, 210 × 100 × 50 cm; Ready for, 2001 – 2016, mixed media, 120 × 35 × 50 cm From the exhibition Overheads, 2017, Nedbalka Gallery, Bratislava

SCULTURES

Komatex 02, 2010, mixed media, 180 × 120 × 100 cm, edition of 3

Komatex 01, 2008, mixed media, 180 × 100 × 100 cm National Gallery collection, Prague From the exhibition International Triennale of Contemporary

From left: S02, 2008, mixed media, 200 × 15 × 15 cm; Window, 2008, mixed media, 100 × 130 × 200 cm; National Gallery collection, Prague From the exhibition International Triennale Of Contemporary Art, 2008, Prague

From left: S02, 2008, mixed media, 200 × 15 × 15 cm; Window, 2008, mixed media, 100 × 130 × 200 cm; Screwdriver, 2007, mixed media, 6 × 3 × 30 cm, edition of 6; Komatex 01, 2008, mixed media, 180 × 100 × 100 cm National Gallery collection, Prague From the exhibition International Triennale Of Contemporary Art, 2008, Prague

S34, 2014, mixed media, 210 × 100 × 100 cm, edition of 3

Three Strong Welds 01, 2013, metal, 80 × 60 × 60 cm, edition of 3

Three Strong Welds 02, 2013, metal, 160 × 120 × 120 cm, edition of 3 From the exhibition Hommage à Peter Strassner, Bratislava City Museum, Devín Castle

S35, 2015, mixed media, 250 × 150 × 150 cm

S16

S16, 2010, mixed media, 200 × 80 × 10 cm, edition of 3 From the exhibition Something About Art, The Good Shepherd Gallery, Brno

Works

Chandelier (detail), 2013, mixed media, 70 × 60 × 60 cm, edition of 8 From the exhibition Art Is Nice, 2014, DSC Gallery, Prague

Briefcase, 2008, mixed media, 40 × 40 × 12 cm, edition of 6

S23D, 2015, mixed media, 100 × 100 × 10 cm

S23C, 2012, mixed media, 40 × 40 × 10 cm, edition of 6

Device Porter Simulator, 2000, mixed media, 80 × 80 × 80 cm

S08, 2011, mixed media, 220 × 70 × 70 cm Slovak National Gallery collection From the exhibition Reconstructions, 2015, Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava

S01, 2009, mixed media, 160 × 50 × 23 cm

To God, 2014, mixed media, 60 × 60 × 40 cm

S03, 2010, mixed media, 100 × 100 × 40 cm

Simulator 02, 2012, mixed media, 30 × 30 × 20 cm, edition of 6

sculpture

S10B, 2016, mixed media, 80 × 80 × 80 cm

S10C, 2016, mixed media, 80 × 80 × 80 cm

S09, 2011, aluminium, plywood, 100 × 100 × 100 cm, edition of 3

S24, 2012, aluminium, 160 × 160 × 160 cm, edition of 6

Cube Connection, 2013, aluminium, 315 × 315 × 315 cm From Unveiling of the Public Sculpture, Košice

Tyre

Tyre, 2008, mixed media, 60 × 60 × 20 cm, edition of 6

Red Dot

Black Dot, 2009, spray paint

Red Dot, 2007, spray paint From the exhibition Gross Domestic Product, Prague City Gallery

Red Dot, 2007, spray paint

Don’t Write Anything about Me, You Cunt!

Don’t Write Anything About Me, You Cunt!, 2007, spray paint From the exhibition SCOOTER – Biennale of Young Art, Trnava This spray paint gesture by the artist is one of a series of short textual messages / statements such as God Navigates Me or I’m Receiving Clear Istructions. The project Don’t Write Anything about Me... reflects the phenomenon of the name as a means of acquiring credit. A curator’s motivation in choosing a particular artist for an exhibition is often only his/her well-known name, with less emphasis placed on the work presented. Frešo adressed his message, in the form of the spray paint on the wall, to an unnamed female curator. His antipathy to her person was made public only verbally among the guests, and solely during the exhibition launch.

God Navigates Me, 2007, spray paint From the exhibition SCOOTER – Biennale of Young Art, Trnava

Important Things, 2007, spray paint

Writings

I Was Here — Air Cruiser in Ústí nad Labem showed Frešo, as in other projects from this period, responding to the phenomenon of residential stays. Shortly before the exhibition opened, he sprayed the inscription I Was Here on the wall of the gallery. The message was meant to illustrate a certain mode of ‘East European thinking’, which in the artist’s view could be generalised as an attempt to gain maximum advantage with the minimum effort. This consideration is, according to Frešo, inseparably part of the local art scene. With his inscription on the wall, the artist thus mocked the host gallery, which had guaranteed the project organisationally and financially. At the same time, however, he confessed to ‘East European thinking’, thus openly professing utilitarianism and placing the project on the level of transparent approach and fair conduct.

I Don’t Like Juraj Dudáš — Take That Personally, an exhibition featuring Ondřej Brody, Viktor Frešo, Jiří Skála and Evžen Šimera (A. M.180 Gallery, Prague, 2004), aimed to open a discussion about the personal intolerance present on the Czech and Slovak art scenes. The exhibition concept was based on a clear definition of the artists’ relations to their colleagues, with an accentuation of negative emotions. Each of the participants selected an individual towards whom he was harbouring negative feelings at that time, and he expressed this on the gallery wall in whatever inscription he thought fit. The exhibition was outstanding for the quality of collaboration between artists who appeared not as an art grouping but purely on the basis of liking one another personally. ‘The first joint appearance of this foursome (...) seems with hindsight to be their most successful. At this distance in time I have no hesitation in calling it one of the most important actions on the Prague scene in recent years. (...) As far as I’m aware, no project up to that point in time, and in such a pure and radical form, had pointed out the communal character of the Prague “scene”. (...) The radical affirmation of community, presented in Take that personally, was at the same time the sharpest criticism of its enclosedness’. (Václav Magid. 2007. Don’t Take That Personally. In: A2, No. 7)

I’m ¼ Hungarian and I’m ¾ Proud of It — presented at the exhibition Viktor Frešo in Žilina (Museum of Art Žilina, 2004, curator Mira Sikorová-Putišová), is a project which originated in response to a TV appearance by Ján Slota, the mayor of Žilina. Frešo’s project was inspired principally by thoughts about the phenomenon of ‘nationality’, or about the perception of Slovak national identity by some of his fellow-citizens. He could see any reason to consider any of the nationalities from the surrounding European regions as anything but the equal of the others, and above all in a united Europe. ‘I am shocked that such tendencies, which I find incomprehensible, are appearing in this beautiful city. I have a feeling that it’ll take us a few more decades to realise that we’re all one and not Slovak or Hungarian. The curator of the exhibition several times impressed on me that the nationality issues are sensitive, so I shouldn’t speak out about them in the gallery. I consider myself a free artist, and so I’ll do whatever I think appropriate. So that the officials in our semi-Bolshevik galleries don’t get used to being able to interfere with artworks and put pressure on the artist’s free creativity...’ The work was an inscription with black spray paint on the gallery wall. Part of the installation was the packaging of white paint for erasing the inscription (after de-installation of the exhibition), here shown with distinctive lighting as an independent artefact.

We Thank You for All That You’ve Done for Slovak Art... — During a medialised three-hour night guerilla action Frešo projected onto the facade of the Slovak National Gallery, the heraldic institution of Slovak visual art, the words:‘We thank you for all that you’ve done for Slovak art.’ The statement is neither unambiguously pejorative nor celebratory: it maintains a neutral bearing, so to speak, without any more emphatic emotional charge. Frešo is thus commenting on the functioning of a cultural institution. Although the disinterested viewer may tend to find a positive purport in the sentence, what the artist had in mind was more a critical, ironic interpretation of the relationship he then had with the Slovak National Gallery.

I Love to Paint — This work is part of a series of textual self-portraits which also includes the inscription I Love to Spray. Very spontaneously and simply, the inscriptions express the artist’s relationship with visual art activities and his preferences. By verbalising and naming specific activities he confers upon them the status of artwork.

Thank You God That I Can Exhibit at the 3rd Prague Biennale — So as to guarantee his participation in the Prague Biennale, Frešo decided to work subliminally on the ‘weak spot’ of its current curator, a man with a strong religious predilection. In accordance with the artist’s aim for the project, the unsuspecting curator was enthralled and assigned Frešo to the select group of artists exhibiting at the Biennale. The work thus balances on the dividing line between authentic statement and intentional manipulation.

Don’t Get Your Panties in a Wad / len sa neposer…, 2010, site-specific intervention From the exhibition POP-MOP, SOGA Art Auction House, Bratislava

You Know Twat About Politics — The inscription is a response to an invitation to the political exhibition CZECHPOINT (NoD Gallery in Prague, 2006; curators Tamara Moyzes, Zuzana Štefková). The artist did not create a work on the assigned theme of the exhibition, which was political art; rather, he responded critically to the curators concept itself and its inadequacy. With a simple and outspoken inscription squirted on a cheap gummed cloth, the sort used instead of tablecloths in restaurants of the ‘third price range’ (where ‘well-founded’ speeches about politics are also often delivered), he expressed his contempt for the curators and participating artists. According to him, these artists use their works to pose as experts on politics, which in reality they are not.

What Helped Me, When..

When I wanted to free myself from addictions, this is what helped me: – I started abstaining from all drugs and alcohol – I followed doctors’ orders and professional advice – I started to run and exercise – I stopped going to old haunts and meeting old friends – I set aside time for myself – I imposed punishments on myself – I prayed a lot and meditated – I set myself an exact daily schedule – I quit relationships with women – I met abstainers regularly

When my girlfriend left me, this is what helped me: – I started doing sports – I masturbated a lot – I scored with every woman I met – I stayed on the lookout for a close female companion – I told everyone about it – I prayed a lot and meditated – I disparaged her attractiveness – I wrote an inventory of my past relationships – I took up Okiyome

When I’m depressed, this is what helps me: – sex or masturbation – sports, swimming, running, walking – ideally in the woods – contemplating and meditating on my state – accepting my state and seeking the reason for it – good food, small delights: movies + popcorn – communicating with a woman or with friends – tidying up old photographs

When I wanted to free myself from financial insecurity, this is what helped me: – I try to pay for everyone – I do not concentrate on tomorrow – I leave it to Higher Powers, I meditate – I try to be happy with what I have got – I reduce my costs and cut out pleasures – I give money to beggars, I leave tips – I tell myself that no one can die of hunger

When I don’t believe in myself and have doubts about my art, this is what helps me: – realising that from the higher perspective all this is in no way relevant – I try not to force myself into making art – I test my ideas on friends – I cancel an exhibition rather than go through with a project I don’t believe in – I try to keep my heart open for subtle signs – I ignore my fears that everything has already been done – I remember how much shit I’ve seen – I communicate with God

When I get into a conflict with someone, this is what helps me: – realising that there are not many things that can help me – inhaling deeply and not increasing the tension – thinking back to something pleasant – not attacking the rival physically, not trashing things – remembering extreme conflicts and trying to calm down – to leave immediately, if that’s possible – to make up after the fight, if that’s possible

What Helped Me, When..., 2005, felt pen on plastic panel Slovak National Gallery collection From the exhibition Reconstructions, Slovak National Gallery, 2015

What Helped Me, When... — This conceptual work is Frešo’s personal, intimate self-portrait. In the form of handwritten notes he reveals
how he dealt with various problems in his life: ridding himself of his dependence on alcohol and drugs, experiencing financial insecurity, having
doubts about his own art, breaking up with his girlfriend... The pragmatic listing of problems, in the mode of a therapeutic exercise (index form),
is not meant to be a universal guide for resolving them, but it offers visitors an opportunity to compare their experience with that of the artist.
At the same time, it represents an awareness that each of us has problems, for which there is a complex of answers and solutions, or at least
methods that help to work towards some solution. By openly presentating his particular problems the artist also frees himself from them and becomes
less vulnerable. Since 2015, the work has been part of the Slovak National Gallery’s collection.

Reaction

Reaction — In 2009, Viktor Frešo was one of four finalists for the Oskár Čepan Award, a local prize given to the best visual a rtistsunder 35 in Slovakia. The jury chose him with a recommendation that he defends his place on the Slovak artistic scene with a new work, to becreated for the final exhibition. At the same time he was advised indirectly that the work should have some other approach besides his ‘traditionallyaggressive pose’. The artist responded in his own way to the jury’s call: he threw a stone with his signature through the window of thegallery space where the finalists’ exhibition was being held. That stone, with the shards of broken glass on the gallery floor, was Frešo’s final work.

Meeting 001

Viktor Frešo & Július Koller: Meeting 001, 2007, colour photograph, artistic collaboration

Meeting 001 — Frešo had a long-term inclination towards interaction with other artists, and it was this which produced his evolving collaboration

with the wellknown Slovak neo-avantgarde artist Július Koller, which ended, however, before it could develop to the full.

For a considerable time the two artists had been discussing possibilities of collaboration and seeking its ideal form. They agreed to record their

meetings, whose results they would later present as video art. The footage was to be shot at a sufficient distance, so that what Frešo and Koller

were taking about would not be clear or comprehensible. The individual meetings were to be numbered using the system 001+.

Already, however, the first video took on a clear, pure and simple conceptual form: the meeting was to be held in a restaurant, where the artists

would have a convivial talk over lunch. The camera was to shoot them from the street, roughly over the time period of an hour.

The result, in the form of a video record, would be presented subsequently at the We Have to Eat! exhibition (Nitra Gallery, 2007).

While they were discussing this idea and agreeing on how to implement it, the artists were photographed on the balcony of Koller’s apartment

on Kudláková Street. The video was to be shot in a week’s time, but Koller did not appear: his life had unexpectedly come to an end.

Instead of the originally planned concept, Frešo presented the last photograph of the two artists together, a silent

visual affirmation of their ‘pact’, proof of their agreed future collaboration. Meeting 001 can also be seen as Viktor Frešo’s homage to Július Koller.

Who is the King ?

Photo by Lucie Bílá Prague, Divadlo TaFantastika Monday, April 25, 2005 5:14:56 PM

Photo by David Koller Prague, AVU Wednesday, March 16, 2005 12:29:56 PM

Photo by Bolek Polívka Brno, Divadlo Bolka Polívku Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Photo by Hanka Zagorová Prague, Bar Solidní nejistota Tuesday, April 05, 2005 5:34:34 PM

Photo by Jiří Korn Prague, Náměstí Republiky Tuesday, April 05, 2005 9:51:42 PM

Photo by Milan Knižák Prague, AVU Tuesday, March 15, 2005 11:53:30 PM

Photo by Milan Kňažko Bratislava, TV JOJ Thursday, February 10, 2005 1:03:04 PM

Photo by Karel Gott Prague, Bar Solidní nejistota Tuesday, April 05, 2005 4:22:46 PM

Photo by Richard Müller Bratislava, Hotel Devín Tuesday, January 25, 2005 5:02:40 PM

Photo by David Koller Prague, AVU Wednesday, March 16, 2005 12:29:56 PM

Photo by Helena Vondráčková Řitka, Vondráčková’s garden Monday, April 25, 2005 5:14:56 PM

Photo by Marián Varga Bratislava, Varga’s apartment Thursday, February 10, 2005 2:42:18 PM

Who’s the King? — The concept of Who’s the King? consists of a reverse principle of celebrity, where the artist is photo -graphed by famous people from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Touched on here is the issue of parasiting on the success and fame of someone else, and questions of authorship and curatorship. The project connects with the fascination that the phenomenon of fame and success has for Frešo, who knows it from his own family background (his father is a well-known musician). He approaches popularity as material to work with: his aim was to demythologise media politics and set up a mirror to the shallow and not infrequently corrupt rules for choice or manipulation in matters of media fame. In the selection of figures whom he approached with a request to create his personal photo-portrait, popularity played the key role. The imaginary ‘ceiling’ was Václav Havel, the former Czechoslovak president: Frešo spent three years trying to set up a meeting with him. In the photos Frešo appears in a suit, which he chose as a representative archetypal element of an impersonal image, associated with business, ambition, predatory urge, and the hard road to one’s goal, and also with the social acceptability, gravity and serious standards of a subject so attired. Who’s the King? is an artist’s and curator’s project. According to the pre-planned concept, Frešo chose personalities who were well-known in the media, conferring on them the status of photographers and presenting the results of their work in a gallery or another artistic institution. The celebrity becomes the author of a photographic work portraying Frešo as a personification and prototype of the young, successful, smiling Central European, established in his profession. Hence the creator of the project is not only Viktor Frešo, but thanks to their voluntary participation, the individual celebrities who took photographs. The creator of the concept and idea thus entered into equal partnership with the photographers, whose works he subsequently postproduces and exhibits.
This is a multi-layered participative project, which on various levels raises basic questions about the artist’s work.

My Granddad

My Granddad — In 2005 the Slovak National Gallery organised The Slovak Myth, an exhibition devoted to personalities and events of Slovak

‘mythomania’, i.e., visually formed ideas about Slovak society, its origins, and the meaning of its existence. Frešo’s grandfather, the actor Pavol Bielik,

who portrayed the folk hero Juraj Jánošík in films, played a considerable part in Slovak cultural history. The exhibition portrayed him in a number

of works and materials reflecting this character and the symbols which it represented in collective thinking. It is this aspect which Frešo decided to

thematise. At the exhibition launch he brought a framed photograph of Jánošík, i.e., Pavol Bielik, to the gallery, and right next to it on the wall he wrote

two words with a felt pen: ‘my granddad’.