Klára Hosnedlová

Klára Hosnedlová’s work explores historical sentiments as they crystallize in modern and contemporary design and architecture. Her sculptures and environments are indebted to Eastern European histories and the past collective mythologies. Hosnedlová works in narrative sequences, exploring utopic architectural sites, such as the iconic Adolf Loos apartments in Pilsen or the Ještěd Tower in Liberec. The atmosphere of the places is captured in digital photography, which is later augmented through a manual reduction of pixels: rendered in silk thread on canvas, objects and faces become landscapes of lighter and darker tones, dissolving into the sculptural frames made from materials found on-site. Hosnedlová’s site specific installations recognize nostalgia as an essential feature of global culture and extrapolate the simultaneity of usually contradictory notions like reflection and longing, estrangement and affection. The performative element of Hosnedlová’s work plays a central part in creating a narrative. Inspired by the modern and brutalist architecture of Central-Eastern Europe, the artist stages performances often taking place in site-specific, private spaces. Like a film, Hosnedlová directs and designs the settings and characters, who act out various scenes. Through a complex and continuous process, the artist seeks out as well as constructs unique environments and creates interwoven narratives within them. When staged within a gallery space, the visiting audience ultimately becomes part of the performance. Their presence re-activates the story of nostalgia, as they discover the past in order to make sense of how we define futurity. ...