Martin Kacvinský: Non-Local Paintings

Martin Kacvinský is a local artist whose work transcends the regional framework both conceptually and expressively. At the same time, his works are somehow “non-local”: he does not shy away from addressing themes that might be seen as provocative in a local context. The exhibition is presented as part of the Profiles / Spiš Artists dramaturgical cycle of exhibitions.

Martin Kacvinský does not restrict himself to fixed conceptual frameworks; he works intuitively rather than on dogmatic lines, directly transforming momentary experiences and emotional responses into his works. His art touches upon issues of identity, nationalism and gender. He often returns to the motif of heads and masks which express the existential crises of individuals and society as a whole, an ongoing search for a (self)portrait which intersects with painterly experimentation. Each of the artist’s works exists in and of itself; they emerge through the expressive gesture of the given moment. Typical features include the rejection of perspective and static compositions, distinctive (almost toxic) colours and combinations of various techniques including painting in oils, acrylics and spray cans, paper collage and assemblage. Smears and splashes of paint, layering and, last but by no means least, the reworking of earlier paintings form part of a selfevolved creative process. Kacvinský’s painting can transport the viewer into a traditional Fašiangy or Shrovetide carnival, surrounded by death, anthropomorphic creatures, devils and kings. The artist is fascinated by primitivism, the power of basic emotions. His all-encompassing parodies confront the local and the global, addressing both the sacred and the profane. The artist reflects on the banality of everyday life and the genius loci of the Spiš region; steeped in its Gothic tradition, the Crucifixion, the peaks of the Tatras and plastic ducks all form part of the region’s subconscious (or post-conscious) identity. In his most recent works, the artist has moved away from figural depictions towards abstraction, from expressive paintings towards geometry. While these two stances may at first seem diametrically opposite, they are in fact united through the artist’s tireless curiosity about the possibilities of novel creative expression. The expressive use of colour is unified into lines; visual games are refined into singular moments of clarification. Rebellion gives way to meditation within the framework of a new era in the life of the artist.

Mgr. art Katarína Balúnová, ArtD., exhibition curator

Author profile
Martin Kacvinský (*1984) studied stone sculpture at the Secondary Vocational School in Spišská Nová Ves from 1999 to 2003. From 2005 to 2006 he attended the Department of Art Education in the Faculty of Art at the University of Prešov, and from 2009 to 2015 he studied under Prof. František Hodonský and Prof. Ján Kudlička at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica, completing his master’s degree there under prof. Štefan Balázs. He is part of the generation of graduates from the Academy of Arts who are now working in the region, including Zuzana Kacvinská, Tomáš Cetera, Adam Macko, Martin Kudla and Ján Frančák. Martin Kacvinský works in painting, drawing and sculpture. From 2013 to 2016 he organised presentations of contemporary young artists as part of the weKLADY post-gallery project in Spišská Nová Ves. He is a member of the Ničiteľ music group which has performed in neighbouring countries (CZ, HUN, PL) and in Slovenia and Croatia. He is also involved in designing album covers. His work has been presented in several exhibitions in Slovakia and also features in the collection of the Gallery of Spiš Artists.