Michal Škoda: Noirs - exhibition at the Benedikt Rejt Gallery

In the thematic exhibition NOIRS, Michal Škoda engages in a creative dialogue with the unique interior of the Louny gallery designed by architect Emil Přikryl. Škoda places his sculptural works literally inside this distinctive and ingenious architectural space, which represents a tribute and a peak realization of several of his creative and exhibition principles. The exhibition thus not only pays tribute to architecture as a place for humanity, but especially to this specific architecture as a place for art. Michal Škoda also celebrates his exhibition anniversary at the Benedict Rejt Gallery, specifically his 70th solo exhibition.
 
A complex relationship to space characterizes Škoda's work – a permanent dialogue between the author, the space, and the materials. In the latest exhibited collection of black objects "Untitled" (2023–2025), he continues to visualize his experiences of architecture, relationships, and the atmosphere of specific places. Monochromatic, reduced objects, referred to as “abstract spatial collages,” introspectively respond to the author's perception and visual priorities; however, they remain emotionally and narratively neutral – thus supporting the autonomous and individual projection of the engaged viewer. The works, realized in black mass with geometric forms, invite visitors to think about form as such, independent of specific context.
 
"Space and man is my main theme, which is connected with many questions concerning our existence. I am particularly interested in three moments – relationships, perception, and emptiness. I try to perceive the everydayness, the world around me, but I also work with history, memory, and the phenomenon of time is important to me as well. The basis of my inspiration is the place, the experience of the place. Architecture has a great influence on my life and work / which are inseparable parts / It does not only concern me like any other person at every second of life, but it can be said to be my everyday theme. However, I am not interested in architecture primarily from the perspective of building, but from the perspective of what is most important to me in architecture, which is the creation of a place for man. At the same time, the relationship between architecture and nature is very important to me. I work with the language of geometry, which is not my goal, but a means of expression."
I perceive the world, life, and communicate with the environment, the surroundings in which I find myself. I process everything within myself and then try to communicate back to the world with my work. My work is a manifestation of internal feelings, thoughts, emotions. I find many references in both everyday life and in memory, history. All this is, in fact, a certain transformation of the immaterial into the material. I deal with objects, painting, and especially drawing, but also with artist's books. I find the greatest depth in ordinariness, simplicity, and austerity. I am interested in seeking order, beauty from a spiritual perspective. My large theme is the already mentioned "emptiness" – defining and relationships – concerning "between – in between" words, people, objects, boundaries, intervals, the intersection of place and time, relationships of objects, contexts – Emptiness as a beginning, existence, not emptiness from the perspective of any nothingness, but emptiness, as a place filled with spirit, emptiness, as a space to be filled..." (M. Škoda)
 
The title of the exhibition NOIRS is a borrowed term. Škoda uses black as a material substance. For him, black possesses architectural purity (smooth, material) and is a tool for concentration, contemplation, and order. It is not about expression, but about suppression, discipline, and mental space. The object/drawing is a spatial reference to the inner architecture of thought. Black is not merely a color – it is a tool for thought and introspection. The works invite the viewer to slow down, to perceive subtle nuances. It is not black as negation, but as a space full of possibilities. Technically, black is not considered a color – it is a non-color. At the same time, it contains all other colors of the spectrum, thus it is saturated and lays the foundation for its diversity and complexity. It contains everything but shows nothing. The use of black and monochrome painting has a significant tradition in European, Asian, and American art. In the 20th century, "black painting" became one of the cornerstones of pure abstraction. Škoda's objects have been created from the beginning in intense black, which is not in contrast to anything else – it is not a lack of light or luminosity. It is a conceptual, not symbolic use. Black does not carry explicit meaning and possesses the ability to resist interpretation. Pure abstraction does not cater to interpretation. Darkness invites introspection, demands intense engagement from the viewer, and aids contemplative experiences.

Curator: Silvia L. Čúzyová

Michal Škoda (*1962, Tábor, Czech Republic) is a prominent figure in contemporary Czech art. He works across the media of drawing, objects, installation, photography, and artist books. His work connects with the consideration of space, architecture, the memory of place, silence, and positive emptiness. Characteristic of Škoda is a radical simplification in expressive means – he often works with black-and-white scales, geometry, reduction, and rhythm. His works are not about narrative but about the structure of perception and experiencing space. The abstraction in his interpretation holds a power that resists simplification and invites a deeper encounter – with oneself and with what we usually overlook. Škoda's exhibition activity has been extensive since the 1990s and includes significant projects in prominent Czech galleries (from activities in recent years, we select: Gallery Kubík – Litomyšl; GASK – Kutná Hora; GHMP – Troja Castle, Prague; Fait Gallery, Brno; Gallery Dům, Broumov; Alšova South Bohemian Gallery, Hluboká nad Vltavou; Kvalitář Gallery, Prague) as well as in foreign galleries such as Galerie Stadtpark – Krems (Austria), Concept Space; AIS Gallery – Shibukawa; Kenakian – Saga (Japan), and many others. Since 1998, he has also been curating the Gallery of Contemporary Art and Architecture in České Budějovice, where he systematically presents contemporary Czech and international art and, last but not least, contemporary architecture.

Key exhibitions MŠ and SČ:
"Overlapping," Fait Gallery, Brno (2024)
"Topography of Solitude," Telegraph Gallery, Olomouc (2023)
"Traces," Alšova South Bohemian Gallery, Hluboká nad Vltavou (2022)
"Spatial Introspection," Gallery 19, Central European House of Photography and Czech Centre Bratislava – as part of the Month of Photography 2021 (2021)
"Through the Layers of Everydayness," Sophistica Gallery, Prague (2020)

Silvia L. Čúzyová (*1981, Piešťany, Slovakia) is an art historian, curator, and educator. She studied the history of art and culture at Trnava University and earned her doctorate at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava, where she also led Gallery Medium from 2009 to 2017. Currently, she serves as an assistant professor at the Department of Theory at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava. Curatorially, she focuses primarily on contemporary art and photography with interdisciplinary overlaps. She has collaborated with several established and emerging authors on exhibitions that demonstrate the ability to read the language of contemporary art and transform it into an exhibition format that is intellectually convincing and visually strong. Čúzyová begins to work with Škoda full-time within the framework of the author's exhibitions, initially highlighting certain thematic areas of his work and over time creating balancing, more robust exhibitions. Their joint projects present conceptual overviews that allow for consideration of the development, transformations, and continuity of Škoda's creative practice. For the audience and institutions, this collaboration is a source of exhibitions that do not remain only in the formal area but emphasize deeper dimensions: memory, space, time, material, and subjectivity.