Experience František Lesák: Vermutung und Wirklichkeit – A Journey into Perception and Reality

This exhibition features conceptual drawings and sculptures by František Lesák, exploring the relationship between tactile and visual perception, and the practice of drawing as a notation of reality. It presents various work groups that delve into the artist's systematic research into objects and their relation to space.

The exhibition 'Vermutung und Wirklichkeit' (Conjecture and Reality) by František Lesák, a conceptual drawer and sculptor, investigates the complex interplay between tactile and visual perception and the practice of drawing as a method of notating reality. Lesák's work is characterized by the systematic creation of spatial reference systems, exploration of changing perspectives, and measurement of selected scenes. This exhibition showcases several groups of works created primarily in recent years, many of which have not been previously exhibited. In the titular cycle 'Vermutung und Wirklichkeit' (2020), Lesák uses 18 image pairs to depict his left hand in two distinct ways, following a strict experimental arrangement. On the left, drawings show the hand with fingers interlocked and hidden from sight, relying solely on tactile sensations, which often leads to an unreliable 'conjecture' of its true form. These drawings highlight the difficulty of accurate representation when visual input is absent, with tentative lines and fragmented forms documenting this challenge. In contrast, the drawings on the right, where the hand is visible, demonstrate the artist's practiced skill in capturing form with ease and abstracting volumes into geometric shapes. This comparison reveals how different sensory approaches activate distinct modes of experience and knowledge. The exhibition also includes the photo series 'Begründung eines Meters' (1972) and studies for 'Bonjour Monsieur Courbet' (1986–2020), which explore the motif of hands as tools of gestural expression. The 'Bonjour Monsieur Courbet' project is an appropriation of Gustave Courbet's painting 'La Rencontre,' reconstructing the scene and incorporating Lesák's own body into various movement choreographies. Furthermore, series like 'Äquivalente' (2020) and 'Waldlandschaften' (2014) describe granite boulders found in the Waldviertel region, with multiple views reconstructing hidden parts and using embossed numerals for spatial reference and object numbering within a larger modeling system. The 'Hermes' series (2012) focuses on the ancient sculpture by Praxiteles. Lesák's works are executed with great scientific precision yet consistently illustrate the limitations of perception and the ambiguity of accuracy. By consistently exploring the interplay between grasping the world and describing it, the artist ultimately poses questions about the nature of reality.

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