~ I GALLERIES I

,Dialogue in driftwood
Seaside settings inspire an unsual artistic collaboration
By PAUL WILSON
FOR THE paST

It is often intriguing when artists reach outside their usual media. The current exhibition at Galerie Navratil features visual works by David Radok, an opera direc" tor, and Josef Kroutvor, an art historian and essayist. The concept of "Driftwood" is simple: Kroutvor contributes impressionistic oil and charcoal sketches of the seaside and in front of them are Radok's organic assemblages made of driftwood, quartzite and metal wire. The first two pieces typify the dialogue between the two artists. Kroutvor's Turtle is an exploration of texture, pitting dark-green shadows, suggestive of a turtle, against a grainy background of scarred stone. Radok answers with Three Obelisks, placed just in front of Turtle, consisting of three blocks of graphite, driftwood and quartz diagonally cut at different heights and wrapped with packing string. A mid-1990s' cycle of Kroutvor'sseaviews is inspired by Belle-Isle in Brittany. These are charming sketches, in blue, of lighthouses, fishing boats and rocks. The quaintness of Kroutvor's approach is lent a harder edge by Radok's accompanying series of pseudo-machines, which incorporate ~ ~.stonecj5gsrw~oden blocks and rusty bolts. These are skillfully constructed pieces, giving the impression of immense practicality in some other dimension. Shoring up the faux

COURTESY

PHOTO

Radok's three-dimensional sculptures complement Kroutvor's paintings and sketches. machines is Radok's Boat, pieces of metal wire to trace which reduces a vessel to its the form of an ostrich or simconstituent elements: a horiply suggest a bird by danzontal block of rough driftgling an egg in space surwood is the hull; a protruding rounded by a complex metal metal rod is the funnel; trianweb. Kroutvor hints at a deep gular and rectangular blocks friendship between the two comprise the bridge. The artists with his 1997 views of structure is topped Gothenburg, Radok's home with a silent, meditaafter his father, the famed tive stone egg, as if theater director Alfred reminding us that Radok, moved the family to this piece may also Sweden following the 1968 --"'be' .iew'ett'3s'"mt-''' """'SOvfetlOO-in.vasioil:' . abstract sculpture In Kroutvor's most recent emanating calmness piece, Strindberg Sea 1-3, and restraint. battered rock and grainy texThe show continues \\ith tures are brought to the fore: both artists exhibiting solo. Looking across the gallery Radok presents his bird toward his earlier idyllic series, in which he utilizes seascapes of Brittany, we are

David Radok and Josef Kroutvor:

Driftwood
at Galerie Navratil
Ends May 25. Tomasska iO, Prague i-Mala Strana. Opi:m Tues.-Sun. noon-6 p.m. reminded that this Scandinavia of cruel beauty is also the place that gave Radok shelter in his formative years.

system. Friday, May 16-June 23. Dukelskych hrdiniJ 47, Prague l-Holesovice. Open Tues.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

ONGOING
Atelier Josefa Sudka (Josef Sudek Atelier)-Lukas Jasansky and Martin Polak: Ignac Black-and white photographs of Prague sites by this well-known duo. See ReviElw, page B21. Ends June 8. Ujezd 30, Prague i-Mala Strana. Open Tues.-Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Clam-GallasiJv palacPrague-Bohemia-Europe In this expansive exhibition are archaeological findings, works of art (paintings, sculptures, jewelry), archival documents, books, maps, graphs and models that chart more than a millennium of Prague's history, as well as the metropolis' relationship to other Czech and European cities.

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(Czech Museum of rll1e Art)Tadeusz Kantor On display for the first time in this country is the work of this experimental Polish visual artist (1915-90) and renowned avantgarde theater director. Ends June 22. Husova 19-21, Prague 1-01d Town. Open TueS.-Sun. 10 a.m.-noon and 1-6 p.m. French Institute GalleryTransfiguration Works by several young French photographers, as selected by the Fund for Contemporary French Art. Ends May 30. Stepanska 35, Prague l-New Town. Open Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-l p.m. French Institute Cafe-Marek Stys Photographs of Afghanistan. Ends May 30. Open Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Galerie Hollar-Vladimir Suchanek An exhibition to mark the 10th birthday of this graphic artiSf. Ends June 1. Sn'aetat18Ml DiiIlI.:,-6~~

Galene Jaroslava FragneraContemporary Austrian Architecture Ends June 30. Betlemske nam. 5a, Prague 1-01d Town. Open Tues.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Galerie Jifi Svestka-Juliao Sarmento Ends June 28. Jungmannova 30, Prague l-New Town. Open TueS.-Fri. noon-6 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Galerie KritikiJ-Hideki Inoue: Outer Layer In a group of 10 largescale oil paintings and 50 small pieces based on photography and mixed technique, this Japanese artist explores the line between appearance and reality. The works originated in Prague while the artist was on a short-term stay last year, but they were made in Japan. Ends May 25. Jungmannova 31 (in Palac Adria), Prague l-New Town. Open TueS.-Sun. 10 a.m,-6p.m. QaIede~of.St.

point technique. Ends June 1. Strahovske.nfJdv. 1, Prague l-Strahov. Open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Galerie Navratil-Driftwood An exhibition of drawings by Josef Kroutvor and objects by David Radok. See Review, this page. Ends May 25. Tomasska 10, Prague l-Mala Strana . .open TueS.-Sun. noon-6 p.m. Galerie NoD-Petr Malina, Filip Cerny, Zbynek Sedlecky, Robert Salanda and Pavel Smid A group show by these five young painters, all recent graduates of AVU, the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Ends May 30. DlouM 33 (above the Roxy), Prague l-Qld Town. Open Mon.-Sat. 1p.m.-l a.m. Galerie Roberta GuttmannaSilenced Tones This shOw'--' examines the life and work of Gideon Klein and Egan Ledet. Ends June 15. U stare skoly 3, Prague 1-01d Town. Open .~s.~ThJ.JJ:S..S~'MJJ_",9lbJ11.;Eri.