Malíř Karel Balcar

Karel Balcar (born in Lanškroun in 1966) is a Czech painter. In 1992 he was accepted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague under professor Zdeněk Beran and graduated in 1999. Most of his exhibitions since then have been in Prague, including venues such as the Liechtenstein Palace, town hall and the Rudolfinum but also the cities of Brno, Hradec Králové and at the Czech Centre in New York City. Many of his paintings have grotesque or sadomasochist themes, and he often portrays feelings of anxiety. via

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Olaf Martens

Olaf Martens is interested in staging his pictures like a theatre play. In his often humorously constructed images, Martens combines a take on fashion, documentary, conceptual, social, even animal photography, art historical and socio-political references. His work cannot be categorised but is a combination of what can be termed a kind of post - modern eclecticism. Marten's view of the feminine takes on a very particular, interesting turn in his work and is the central theme around which all else revolves.
Martens undermines the seemingly homogenous facade of the photographic. His works is characterised by uniting contrary details, and refiguring them in a very unique and hybrid manner. This leaves many questions to the viewer, not apparent on first glance.
The theme of the outside and the outsider has been a recurring theme in Marten's work from the very beginning. His images are most often taken in dis-used factories, the outskirts of cities, and in new and up-coming cities like Russia, Czechoslovakia, Turkey and East Germany.
Similar to David Lynch's imagery, Martens uses recurring roles and types usually those of outsiders to society. Cleaning women, dwarfs, seamstresses, overly fat women, strippers, dancers, transvestites are of particular fascination to him. They inhabit the opposite end of the spectrum and Martens ironically combines them with seemingly flawless models. Yet, here the model appears in latex, gas masks, workers' outfits and high heels, adding another hybrid layer to his work.
Olaf Martens studied photography at the highly renowned Leipzig Academy for "Graphik und Buchkunst". His contemporaries are the well-known "Leipzig School" with artists such as Neo Rauch, Tim Eitel or Tilo Baumgartel. His work has been exhibited in many museum group exhibitions on contemporary German photography as well as in solo exhibitions at the Kunst Museum, Bonn, Grassi Museum, Leipzig, Moscow House of photography, Leopold Museum, Vienna, German Historical Museum in Berlin, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg. He has exhibited in galleries nationally and internationally. His work is included in collections such as the FC Gundlach Collection and the Sammlung Goetz, Munich. via

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SUKA OFF

SUKA OFF is a Poland based artist collective existing since 1995. They have been creating work across visual theatre, performance art, club action, installation, photography, video art and music visuals. Their work has been presented in theatres, art galleries, clubs and festivals in most European countries, as well as in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Japan. They remain completely independent and not supported by any public institution due to the character and content of their work.

The members of SUKA OFF are Piotr Wegrzynski (founder, visual artist, performer) and Sylvia Lajbig (classical philologist, performer). SUKA OFF is constantly supported by other artists collaborating on individual projects. Among them are Hellen Burrough, Maciej Dziaczko and Tomasz Wiracki.

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