Exhibition: Lenka Falušiová WAIT TILL THE MOON IS FULL

See the whole world in a grain of sand And the sky in a wildflower, To clasp infinity in the palm of my hand and eternity in a mere hour. (William Blake, from the poem The Prophecy of Innocence)

In his philosophy, the legendary founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu, called for silence, humility, and total harmony with nature. Kuo Si, painter and author of the most important ancient Chinese treatise on the theory of landscape painting, saw this form as an important means of bringing people into contact with the real landscape, both on a spiritual and physical level. Lenka Falušiová's drawings and prints directly invite to quietly immerse oneself in the bosom of nature, to find rest and inner fulfilment. For - as Éliphas Lévi, the classic of French occultism, said - "Long observation of the sky ignites the imagination, the stars then correspond to our thoughts." Falušiová's landscape is melancholic and silent, the trees dream and the mountains breathe, the animals have stars in their eyes and the Spirit of the Forest reigns over everything.

Achieving such a profound effect in a work of art requires not only precise craftsmanship, which the artist has mastered with absolute conviction, both in ink on canvas and pen and ink on paper, but also in the complex graphic techniques of line etching and mezzotint, the creation of which has an almost sacred character for her. Another essential component is the convincing depiction of the subject matter, which in Falušiová's work springs from a personal and thorough knowledge and understanding of the workings of natural processes. Just as many great artists have considered nature to be their greatest and often only teacher, for her physical presence in the midst of nature is an absolutely essential part of her work and life, perhaps even a condition of survival itself. But it is not just a matter of sensory perception, which, according to the English painter and poet William Blake, as the antithesis of imagination, can even be an obstacle to true knowledge: "How do you know that every bird that makes its way through the air is an immense world of delight, closed to you by your five senses?" It was with works like The Conjunction of Heaven and Hell that this opponent of Enlightenment rationalism became an important precursor of Romanticism, which is also a visible part of Falusha's oeuvre, whose graphic preoccupation harkens back to nineteenth-century masters such as Rodolphe Bresdin and Gustave Doré.

An almost philosophical poetic vision is reflected in the deep forests and rocky landscapes, where here and there a more or less visible animal appears to heighten the tension between the present and the absent. The intertwined branches of the trees hide many phantoms while transforming themselves into a symbol of the complicated human brain. The drooping branches or the solitary dark tree, also a frequent element in the paintings, refer to another, this time existential level of the work, referring not only to the seductive charm of nature, but also to its threats. 

The magical nature of the forest interiors reflects the author's interest in further overlaps towards mysticism, spirituality and alchemy (besides Éliphas Lévi, also, for example, the Swedish theologian and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg), towards the exploration of unusual manifestations of the hidden life of the plant world (the book The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird), and towards an interest in what comes after physical death (Raymond A. Moody, Life After Life). Despite the many sources of inspiration, however, it is always above all a personal connection with nature that, through deep concentration, opens the way to art as an expression of the spirit. In her prints and drawings, Lenka Falušiová does not depict specific places, but creates new, mythical and sacred landscapes that tell of feelings of connection with nature and time. A landscape that hides something dreamlike and supersensual. By contemplating this landscape and immersing ourselves in the deep forest, we can deepen our own consciousness, experience a fascinating journey into the unknown and discover the story of the inner landscape of the self.

Kristýna Jirátová, curator of the exhibition

The exhibition is on display from 9/10 - 14/11. Please book your visit at praguehouse@praha.eu