Katerina Vincourova

Art (Click images below to enlarge)

About this work

Katerina Vincourova: Inside Out

Katerina Vincourova, one of the most respected young Czech artists, often uses her work to examine notions of capitalist consumerism as they have taken hold in post-communist Czech society. Her installation pieces have been said to “comment upon a crisis of the individual’s identity, manipulated by the growing power of the media which dictates the values for society” (Grigar 2007: 20).

On view in her 2002 exhibit “New Heroes” were five enormous inflatable white objects shaped like bottles, cans or toothpaste tubes. Each is filled with various objects visible through transparent plastic “windows,” such as hanging birdlike toys made out of blue-dyed feathers, reclining figures made of Coca-Cola cans and plastic cups, a color photograph of a panda bear behind a green curtain printed with U.S. dollar bills, and a sleeping bag that suggests a homeless person might be inside it. This grouping hints at a strange, cosmic expedition. Although these sculptures would have made a powerful show on their own, Vincourova added an installation titled “New Heroes”. This satirical yet profound work featured four large 3-D cartoon characters made of colorful foam-stuffed fabric. Shaped like a cell phone, a lightbulb, a carrot and a toothbrush, these human-size Gumby-like figures with stylized arms and legs are based on popular animated characters from Czech TV commercials. Apparently taking a break from their usual duties of selling consumer products, the creatures are shown seated on large wooden tree stumps, resting beside a flickering fire (red, orange and yellow strips of fabric activated by a small ventilator). In spite of its comic elements, the installation suggests a forest decimated in the interests of big business. Employing humor and irony, Vincourova mocks the false promises and empty icons that corporations routinely use in kitschy advertising campaigns. Her “new heroes” remind us that while consumerism promises momentary happiness, in the long term it can destroy the natural environment and diminish the quality of our lives.

“Inside Out,” another series from 2006, depicts underwear stretched out among balls and sometimes over inflated balls, as in two of the images displayed here. Also depicted here is an untitled watercolor from 2004 as an example of another sexuality-focused piece.

References

“The Gendered Body as Raw Material for Women Artists of Central Eastern Europe in the Post-Communist Decade.” www.units.muohio.edu/havighurstcenter/publications/documents/grigar1.pdf (PDF).