Roller andLehocká

for the national gallery

Explore the creations of Denisa Lehocká and Peter Roller, specially crafted for the national gallery on this occasion.

Lehocká

Denisa Lehocká (1971) has spent over a year preparing a monumental wall installation for the Átria space at the national gallery. Spanning 15 x 2.75 meters, this creation is a spatial collage, visual text, artistic poetry, and an absolute installation. As always, It serves as an invitation to tune in, allowing individuality to function as a cohesive whole, and to discover a voice that resonates uniquely with each observer.

Despite this, Lehocká is not silent; on the contrary, she meticulously attempts to articulate the world around her and us. Employing “ordinary” materials and techniques such as plaster, natural materials, coins, casts, textile objects, embroidery, shaping, combining, and spinning, Lehocká listens to inner tensions and harmonizes everything to ensure each object finds its precise place.

The resulting spatial sculpture ‘Untitled’ is not an autobiographical confession of the author but rather a metaphor for the world and its current experiences.

Roller

Peter Roller (1948) has dedicated over two decades to his participatory and altruistic project, Petrograma. The inception of this endeavor involved discovering a pebble, which the artist adorned with markings and gifted to someone. Around 2010/2011, Roller initiated the distribution and placement of these painted pebbles throughout Bratislava. Through friends – “messengers”, these unique stones also found their way to various parts of the world. For SNG, the artist applies an original pattern, mysteriously reminiscent of a black and white keyboard or musical notes, to the found stones, predominantly boulders and pebbles. Some stones, adorned in red color, are both rarer and less numerous. For SNG, Roller exclusively sourced stones from the Danube River, because as geologist Václav Cílek asserts, the Danube is Bratislava’s greatest work of art.

A portion of this collection, exhibited within the gallery’s interior, will eventually become a permanent part of the gallery’s collection, while a specific number is designated for visitors. Throughout the exhibition’s duration, Roller will progressively position stones in the gallery’s exterior. Those fortunate enough to discover their designated stone (of happiness) are encouraged to take it home.

Afterall, Petrograms are stones with a sedimented memory, transforming into not only unique works of art and talismans with enigmatic patterns but also memories with a connection to the place of discovery for each fortunate finder.