Katarina Brunclíková
Katarina Brunclíková is able to use the light relationships in a very personal and unique way. Her photographs create a magical and mysterious feeling. She feels that is very important to wait for the right moment that fits her imaginations perfectly. She tries to catch the unrepeatable atmosphere of precisely picked situations, when all layers are integrating in a way that the final picture matches her intentions. The shots are never merely abstract, they always contain some realistic base which might seem a little bit indistinct at first. This way she makes the viewer perceive the chosen motifs through different optics, in unexpected connections. She likes to use the abilities of lumens, reflections or shadows. This makes the original reality out of focus but on the other hand it naturally creates surprising connections of different meanings.
The photographer has an extraordinary sense for balanced composition, for combining obvious pieces of reality with subtler ones. This creates an unusual tension caused by unanswered questions which might inspire imagination. It is unnecessary though to try to decipher substantial motives or not. It is more important to express the connections. For Katarina Brunclíková typically waits for moments that might never come back again. She likes to put her photographs into cycles in which the theme gets broader until it is exhausted. Afterwards there are new horizons opening up for her. The world of her stories isn’t always clear, it is full of concealment and secrets. The author gives us only a hint and makes us evolve our imaginations so that we have to conjure up the things that are happening in her photographs.
In her creative works she is covering a few streams of graphic arts. Sometimes she continues on minimalistic tendencies. This she expresses through intensely lit shapes that are coming out from an unidentified dark dimension. Here creative work develops into strict simple geometric components, but at the same time she leaves room for randomness. Other times she is playing with variable structures, kind of like if she was inspired by Art Informel with its emphasis of unmanageable streams of energy. When one looks at her bright photographs, one can imagine how the Earth was created, how the planets were born, how the lava is oozing out of the volcano, how the lightning flashes over the land for a second or how the fierce northern lights reflect on the never ending fields of snow.
The remarkable portraits are those of human faces interfering with structures. The face is falling apart and divides or connects with the natural motifs without creating a sentimental feeling. The ambiguity lets us come to one’s imagination again. The swept back sceneries are suggestive, there is no time for noticing details, but the main focus is on the overall effect. The artist inspired by urban motifs connects with the sparing urbanism of the Group 42. She has a similar ability to express the atmosphere of her chosen surroundings just like the members - painters and poets (Gross, Hudeček, Kainar, Kolář).
Last I would like to add that Katarina Brunclíková shows a strong painter’s sentiment. At the same time she always watches for a specific theme and concept in which she freely steps over the borders of strictly determined graphic fields.
Jiří Machalický
