Vladimir Houdek


Vladimír Houdek (1984) lives and works in Prague. During his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, at Vladimír Skrepl’s studio of painting, Houdek received two significant awards – in 2010 the Critics’ Prize for Young Painting and two years later the most prestigious award in Czech republic, the Jindřich Chalupecký Prize. The latter as the only painter for a long time before and after. In his paintings, Houdek creates a perfect illusion of something that does not exist. However, he also emphasizes the materiality of painting, specifically its layering, which lends his works a pronounced materiality and “objectness,” conveying a sense of physical weight. Similarly, this applies to the geometric forms that constitute their content. The symbols present in his work are simple, yet they are laden with layers of intellectual references drawn from the history of science, visual arts, architecture, and technology. These references, however, are not mere citations – Houdek reevaluates and synthesizes them in a specific manner, creating a new entity by combining seemingly disparate phenomena and objects. One of the enduring themes that captivates him is that of ideal cities and people, a concept that was always deeply intertwined with political, philosophical, and urbanistic utopian visions.


Exhibitions

Obrácená hlava

06 Oct 2023 - 25 Nov 2023

Comma first selection

11 Sep 2023 - 30 Sep 2023