Helmut Bistika

I first came across the work of HELMUT BISTIKA even before 1989, when a window display of a perfumery stopped me in my tracks as I walked down Hlavná Street in Košice. It seemed like something from another world, from somewhere on the other side of that “great” border. It was provocative, enticing, radiating “Western” luxury. At that time, I had no idea whose work it was, but the unmistakable fluidity of its expression stayed with me. I eventually met its creator in the flesh many years later, through the C+S art collective, of which we were both members.

Helmut describes himself as “a free and creative artist who concerns himself with painting, graphics and the creation of art objects”. And it was precisely this freedom that so appealed to me – personal freedom, the ability to act without pressure, to be original – to make one’s own rules, both in life and in art. Sometimes it seemed courageous, other times as a provocation, frivolity, simplicity, even childlike innocence. This is Helmut in a nutshell. He looks upon the world with curious, open eyes and expects the same in return. And this is why the dividing line between his art and a childlike artistic expression is so porous. For Helmut, art is not pain and suffering but a joyous game with endless variations. He loves to combine, discover, change, provoke. He switches from one medium to another whenever he chooses; and if he wants to, he simply puts everything away and starts all over again.

The exhibition features a fascinating series of paintings by Helmut: Stena Wall I (Three Angels); Wall II (Red Rider); Wall III (Blue Rider); Wall IV (A Happy Day). These are joint works, a perfect symbiosis between Helmut and his clients – the residents of the facility run by MAJÁK, a non-profit organization based in Zdoba, near Košice. The young people living there have varying degrees of impaired sight or hearing loss, and they move to the facility after completing their studies at the Special Elementary School in Červenica. Here, no one speaks; communication is performed through touch. There is a sense of mutual respect for personal space. Helmut has worked at the centre for years, painting in art therapy sessions two times per week. He does as much as he can to help them live full lives. It is a vocation, a calling for exceptional people with a heart full of warmth: “It is all about give and take”, he says. “I give them my strength and my energy, but I gain far more in return…. In the studio, we have what we call THE WALL. I pin up a canvas, and they work on it. We explore human relationships, get to know each other, free ourselves, make shapes, colours, stories. Walls often stand between people, and it can be difficult to find a way past, to ourselves, to others. I also came across a wall of this kind, but I also found a way around it. A path that led me to the deaf and the blind, to those who face so many hardships; I found it so that I could understand how happy and free I am”. This is yet another facet of Helmut; his humanity. Paradoxically, his abilities and activities are far better known abroad rather than in his own country, especially in the German-speaking world where he often leads creative workshops in different facilities.

The sheer spontaneity, experimentation and emotion of the works which Helmut displays in the exhibition is truly breathtaking. We have the feeling that we are standing before something exceptional. The extent to which one individual or another is responsible for the work is of little concern – this is a case of perfect symbiosis. Diagnoses go by the wayside; the impossible is overcome; the urgency of the need to express oneself is palpable. To see a creative process of this type in action, the metamorphosis of clients into artists, is a truly unforgettable experience.

Edita Vološčuková, project curator