ŠIMON SÝKORA: Străin / Stranger
opening Thursday, Sept. 28th 2023
Sandwich - Combinatul Fondului Plastic
Exhibition open: 28.09 - 09.11.2023

​

During his one-month residency in Bucharest, Šimon Sýkora retraced his steps to his internship at UNArte (National Arts University) in 2016. His exploration, spanning city outskirts and hidden corners, led him to unusual situations and a deeper connection with the urban periphery. The series of paintings made during the residency captures the essence of Bucharest's transformation – the new, the forgotten, and the gentrified. 

​

In 2016 he earned the nickname "străin" from the people he encountered. "Stranger" becomes a silent observer of the passage of time. While his initial intent was to delve into gentrification, brownfields, and the city's dramatic transformations, much of his paintings made during the residency focuses on the enduring charm of preserved rural landscapes, which persist even as new skyscrapers emerge just around the corner.

​

Šimon’s residency was organised by The Czech Center Bucharest, in partnership with Sandwich, who offered the artist studio within Combinatul Fondului Plastic, where the gallery itself is also located. 

Šimon Sýkora (b. 1990) lives in Prague and Vienna and holds a PhD from the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague. His recent solo shows include Outskirts at Polansky Gallery, viennacontemporary Zone 1, Liste Art Fair Basel, together with Siggi Sekira, Wasteland at Gallery Gask (CZ), Turning Stranger at Polansky Gallery, and Eyes closed, Fingers down at Gallery Pragovka. His works were included in group shows like, among others, at Kunstverein Eisenstagt (AT), Galerie Zimmermann Kratochvil (AT), U10 Artspace Belgrade, The Hole New York, Sinkhole Project Berlin. You can read a great review of his latest solo show here https://www.ofluxo.net/outskirts-simon-sykora-at-polansky-prague/. 

​

​

​

​

​

 

​

This event is part of the Program “Sandwich Meta Club”.

A cultural Program co-funded by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund.