GUIDED TOUR WITH PAVEL BAŇKA

Tuesday, June 9 from 5 pm | voluntary admission

We cordially invite you to a guided tour of the exhibition Photography is like flicking a reed into the stream of time which will take place on Tuesday, June 9 from 5 pm at Galerie Fotografic. What does the poetic title of the exhibition mean? What various facets of the photographic medium will you see at the exhibition? What was it like to take photographs in America in the early 1980s? You will find out all this and much more during the guided tour and discussion directly with the artist, the renowned photographer Pavel Baňka.

In the context of Czech photography, Pavel Baňka’s visual universe represents a distinct island of inner integrity and a tireless search for the hidden meanings of reality. In today’s era, overwhelmed by digital noise and generated imagery, his analog experiments act as a radical gesture of slowing down. The exhibition at Galerie Fotografic brings together iconic works from the Figuration cycle and surprising, previously unseen positions from the artist’s archive. Here, Baňka confirms his role as a visionary capable of reviving the legacy of Surrealism and the interwar avant-garde without ever slipping into mere nostalgia.

Pavel Baňka (*1941), an engineer by training, reached the world of art on his own terms, eventually becoming one of the key figures of the Czech photographic scene. He went on to teach photography as a visiting professor at art schools abroad (specifically in the USA) and later in his home country. Beyond his own artistic career, he has fundamentally shaped the institutional landscape of Czech photography—he co-founded the Fotograf magazine and gallery and established the Photography Studio at FUD UJEP. His work is represented in prestigious international collections today, from the Centre Pompidou in Paris to the Art Institute of Chicago. He lives and works in Prague. www.pavelbanka.com