Vojtěch Kovařík - 20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Day Sale Hong Kong Tuesday, June 21, 2022 | Phillips

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  • Following a successful exhibition at Mendes Wood DM in São Paulo (2021) and an impressive, sell-out solo show at Galerie Derouillon in Paris (2022), Czech artist Vojtěch Kovařík is making his international auction debut with the piece Mother Afrodita, an emblematic representation of his oeuvre executed in 2020.

     

    Originally trained in ceramics and sculpture, Kovařík’s artistic roots are translated onto his canvases, most of which depict herculean figures that recall the form and strength of large-scale sculptures. The artist’s fascination with Greek mythology materialises in the form of his subjects, which are often caricatures of prominent mythological characters— with this in mind, it seems likely that Mother Afrodita alludes to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. While Afrodita is an alternate spelling of Aphrodite, Mother appears to refer to Aphrodite’s common classification as the goddess of fertility as well. Stylistically, Mother Afrodita further brings to mind the sculptures of Henry Moore, similar with their small heads and oversized, promenent frames that are abstract yet easily identifiable. 

     

    Paris, Galerie Derouillon, Destinies of Stone Faces, 3 March - 16  April 2022

     

    Vojtěch Kovařík in Conversation

     

    In 2020, Sasha Bogojev interviewed Vojtěch Kovařík about the inspirations behind his works.

     

    Sasha Bogojev: Where do you find inspiration for your work, and how does that inform how you paint?

     

    Vojtěch Kovařík: For the permanent inspiration or work that I can enjoy every day, I return to previous generations, from postwar art, old masters and antiquity, to the beginnings of art. I am also very inspired by the period of Brutalism, Soviet statues and posters. I also get inspiration from books about Greek culture.

     

    SB: Your figures have an ambiguous feel on many levels. Is that intentional and why do you paint them that way?

     

    VK: I like to work with a strong and already processed object, but I feel it is not good to define it absolutely. Because if you ignore it a little bit, then painting offers more questions and hides something more mysterious. Sometimes it happens to me that the image follows a very original theme, which is then too flat and insufficient. Also, sometimes the painting is repainted, then another created during the last brush strokes. I like limitlessness and ambiguity, layering and repainting–and that's why I love the whole process.

     

    SB: How long do you plan to move in this direction? Is there any other body of work you would like to develop?

     

    VK: Not until I exhaust Greek antiquity, which I may be doing all my life, haha. I am definitely now more focused on methods, working with the surface, the relationship of colors, and I'm starting to work more with space in pictures.

     

    Read more here.

     

    • Provenance

      Gallery HERO, Amsterdam
      Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2020

267

Mother Afrodita

signed, titled and dated 'VOJTECH KOVARIK "AFRODITA" 2020' on the reverse
acrylic on canvas
180 x 170.2 cm. (70 7/8 x 67 in.)
Painted in 2020.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
HK$200,000 - 300,000 
€24,400-36,500
$25,600-38,500

Sold for HK$945,000

Contact Specialist

Danielle So
Specialist, Head of Day Sale
+852 2318 2027
danielleso@phillips.com

20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Day Sale

Hong Kong Auction 21 June 2022