Peter Bartoš: Situations 1945–2014 – A Retrospective of Conceptual Art at Secession

This exhibition at Secession presents the diverse life's work of Peter Bartoš, an early proponent of conceptual and action art in Slovakia. Focusing on his use of photocopies as both artwork and distribution method, the show explores his engagement with materials, process, nature, and the concept of 'anti-art'.

Peter Bartoš, a key figure in conceptual and action art in Slovakia, is featured in this exhibition titled 'Situations 1945–2014'. The show highlights his extensive oeuvre, meticulously documented through photocopies, which he employs as both artistic works and tools for disseminating his concepts. Bartoš views the photocopy as 'anti-art,' emphasizing its role in recording and distributing his ideas. His early work, such as the reproducible 'Photoseries Painting' from 1967-1968, demonstrates a consistent approach where specific raster motifs function across different media. Expanding on the process of painting, Bartoš created actions in the late 1960s involving pouring colors and scattering materials like ash, dust, chalk, and peat on public spaces in Bratislava, focusing on the physical properties of these substances, their ephemeral nature, and their transformative potential through accumulation or dispersion. Nature has been a significant inspiration for Bartoš. He has incorporated living animals into his work, notably in the 1971 action 'Vypúšt’anie holubov na slobodu' (Releasing Pigeons into Freedom), which can be interpreted in the context of the country's isolation at the time. His deep connection with pigeons also led to a long period as a pigeon breeder and his employment as a concept artist at the Bratislava Zoo from 1979 to 1990. There, he developed concepts for the zoo's spatial structure and designed habitats for animals, exploring 'Animal Art' as a biological and psychological precursor to interspecies relationships and the creation of ecological culture. Many of Bartoš's projects, often developed over decades, intertwine ecological planning and landscape design with ideas of freedom and privacy, particularly in relation to state-political boundaries. Since 1993, his 'Nomadart' project involves walking, drawing, and photographing his homeland across five Central European countries: Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Austria. The central point of this route is Uhrovec, the birthplace of historical figures like Ľudovít Štúr and Alexander Dubček. Bartoš's understanding of 'home' transcends national borders, as evidenced by his repeated crossings of the green border after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, a period during which he hesitated to choose a new citizenship.

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