Vojtěch Kovařík

Critical text

Known for his provocative depictions of Greek mythology, Czech artist Vojtěch Kovařík (b. 1993, Valašské Meziříčí) overturns concepts of masculinity and heroism through his muscular characters. His large-scale paintings stand out with striking, cheerful color compositions that somehow conspire to make Kovařík’s mythological heroes seem even more distinct and anachronistic while at the same time attractive and mysterious. The square canvases are almost filled with bodies, reducing the background of the painting to shaded shapes or stylized landscape to draw more attention to the figure itself. The bold characters appear to be statues that want to go beyond the composition’s edges but end up being frozen in frames forever. As in a game of duality, the artist seems to play ambiguously between violence and silliness, brutal and naivety, masculine and feminine, playful and sinister.

Text by Fernanda Brenner