Artists: Tereza Samková, Libor Novotný, Sabina Knetlová
Curator: František Kowlowski
Photo report from the exhibition
The exhibition Boundaries of the Seen brings together three contemporary artists — Sabina Knetlová, Libor Novotný, and Tereza Samková — prominent figures of the young Ostrava visual art scene, whose work explores the relationship between space, materiality, and human existence. The exhibition presents a dialogue between three approaches — painting, installation, and sculpture — and encourages viewers to reflect on the boundaries of the visible, the material, and the merely sensed.
The project examines the threshold between the natural and the artificial, stability and transformation, physical and spiritual space. It broadens perspectives on possible dual relationships within the broadly understood field of architecture and space, including their residues: personal identities shaped through emotional experiences in today’s globalized world, human corporeality, and impermanence. Through symbolic forms, the exhibition seeks to illuminate residual “cracks” — subtle ruptures that remain beneath the surface.
As philosopher Martin Heidegger writes: “Art reveals Being by showing the invisible and bringing it into the light” (Being and Time). This process is not merely a technical skill, but an ontological unveiling, through which art generates a new interpretation of reality.
This phenomenon is further expanded by the specific accents of place — where the artists come from or where they work. It is not only about a personal environment carrying its own cultural and aesthetic identity. As Heidegger notes in his famous essay The Origin of the Work of Art, place is not simply a geographical or physical context, but holds ontological significance: it is an “unconcealment of truth” within the artist’s inner universe. This ontological aspect can also be found in the works of the artists represented in this exhibition.
Tereza Samková expands visual codes through spatial illusion, often reframing the pictorial surface with architectural elements, creating layered visual narratives. A defining feature of her work is the tension between dreamlike elusiveness and rational geometry. Central to her practice is the interplay between reason and intuition. She connects geometric construction with fleeting atmosphere, leaving space for the viewer’s own interpretation of the painted environments they observe.
Sabina Knetlová explores the meditative quality of sculpture — her figures exist in moments of suspension, a temporality moving toward stillness, eternity, concentration, and connection with their surroundings. She draws inspiration from archaic sculpture, yet her work remains deeply contemporary. The use of concrete emphasizes the rawness of the material, while its combination with organic forms gives the sculptures an inner dynamism.
Another significant conceptual element of the exhibition is a specific kind of humor, which for Libor Novotný is not only a means of expression but also a philosophical strategy. Black humor, often used as a way of coping with existential burden and absurdity, may be understood as a kind of “transitional frame,” where “something that appears banal carries deep meaning” (Danto, After the End of Art). His work oscillates between playfulness and conceptual critique, highlighting the limits of human perception and proposing alternative ways of seeing. He frequently works with installation and site-specific art, prompting viewers to reconsider space and its functions.
Arthur C. Danto, the influential American philosopher of art, argues in After the End of Art that after a certain phase of historical development, artworks can no longer be judged according to a single style or form. Danto also observes that contemporary art often carries primarily philosophical content — something evident in the work of several of the artists presented here, manifesting not only as an aesthetic interest but above all as a deep reflection on the autonomy of art, as well as political, cultural, and social questions.
Ultimately, the exhibition opens a dialogue between traditional artistic gestures and their contemporary positions. Drawing, painting, and sculpture remain relevant media, yet the artists frequently reshape and innovate them, creating new modes of perception. Traditional techniques are subtly transformed into a modern context, resulting in works that oscillate between tradition and innovation. In this sense, classical aesthetic categories give way to new forms of interpretation and experience, echoing Danto’s vision of the “end of art.”
Sabina Knetlová (*1996) is a sculptor working primarily with concrete, which she combines with other materials (rubber hoses, prefabricated elements). Her practice balances between figuration and abstraction, and her sculptures are characterized by meditative calm and a strong connection to space. Inspired by archaic sculpture (Egypt, Gothic art), she also reflects the industrial world. Her works emphasize the tension between sculptural gesture and industrial material, highlighting the contrast between organic qualities and artificiality. Concrete underscores the rawness of matter, while its pairing with organic forms gives the sculptures inner dynamism.
Libor Novotný (*1979) connects natural and cultural elements, focusing on interventions in public space as well as gallery exhibitions. His work questions the boundary between nature and civilization, transforming organic materials (mushrooms, wood) into new contexts and introducing elements of geometry or irony. Oscillating between playfulness and conceptual critique, he emphasizes the limits of human perception and proposes alternative ways of seeing. He often works with installation and site-specific art, compelling viewers to reconsider space and its functions.
Tereza Samková (*1996) focuses on space as a metaphor for human existence. Her works emerge from personal experiences, dreams, and concrete realities, while addressing existential questions. She employs spatial illusion, often reframing the pictorial surface with architectural elements, creating layered visual narratives. A characteristic feature of her work is the tension between dreamlike intangibility and rational geometry. Central to her practice is the interplay between rationality and intuition. She connects geometric construction with fluid atmosphere, allowing viewers to interpret for themselves the spaces they observe.