Benedikt Tolar: GRINDCORE – Exhibition

Benedikt Tolar’s creativity is based on constant observation of reality. In things that an ordinary person would pass by without noticing, he already observes future artefacts in advance. The basis of his work has thus become primarily recycling, to which ecological thinking has gradually been added. With his typically peculiar humour, he critically reacts to the present, excess material, and lack of greenery. He creates unexpected contexts by connecting seemingly incompatible things – often even for himself. The resulting theme depends on the material, properties, shape, and colour. The artist frequently loses control over the creation of the work; on the contrary, it is the material that controls its author in this case.

Tolar’s entire work works with the principle of more or less controlled chance. The artist accumulates found or scrapyard items in his studio, where (sometimes more, sometimes less) Duchampian ready-made objects are subsequently created under his hands. He is fascinated by the rawness of objects, and he often tries to preserve their original form as much as possible. At the same time, however, he usually works with complex, artisanal and technically mastered procedures. To find the appropriate colour and surface structure, he also experiments with coffee or water with salt, galvanic plating or paints, for which he uses the simple principle of gravity in the form of flowing, spilling, and dripping.

The name of the exhibition, GRINDCORE, refers to the main content of the exhibition, which is primarily made up of hoods and roofs of old cars, from which the author creates metal paintings by grinding their coloured layers. All this to the sound of an angle grinder reminiscent of the uncompromising Grindcore music style. The exhibition also includes the Dance of Death sculpture created from an old, deformed bathtub, which refers to the work Aj Vana Be…, which is part of the Winter Lights 2025 festival at Canary Wharf. The author used 32 retired bathtubs as building material for this work. The giant living sculpture Aj Vana Be…* is the author’s response to the theme of water as a precious resource, which he connects with the principles of up-cycling obsolete bathtubs, an inherent part of socialist housing in high-rise buildings. The concave shape of the bathtubs creates space for a light show synchronized with music. Aj Vana Be… has been exhibited in Belgium, Finland, Slovakia, and France in recent years and can be enjoyed in London at Mackenzie Walk, Canary Wharf E14, daily between 5 and 10 pm from 21 January till 1 February 2025. More info

*VANA in Czech means bathtub.

• EXHIBITION OPENING
  Monday 20 January 2025, 18:30 – 20:30
  Free entry, REGISTER HERE
• EXHIBITION DATES: 20 – 31 January 2025
• VENUE
  Vitrínka Gallery, Czech Centre London
  30 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
• OPENING HOURS:
  Tue – Fri 10 am – 5 pm
  or by appointment – info@czechcentre.org.uk

Links:
http://tolarbenedikt.com/
https://www.artshifters.eu/ajvanabe
https://www.instagram.com/tolar.benedikt/