Present
HRA S ČASEM / PLAYING WITH TIME
Josefína Dušková / Walther Smeitink Mühlbacher
Zámecký areál Žirovnice / Špýchar, zahrady, parkán
Playing with Time / Capturing the Essence of the Moment
Text: Barbora Lemfeldová, 2025
Human life is an inscrutable bet with time. The passing of time knows no mercy, it is relentless, it leaves traces, scars, causes destruction and decay, but it can also be embraced through the fragility and transience of everything impacted by time. Maybe the very finitude and transience of human life is what gives it its purpose. The terrifying and at the same time strangely comforting idea that one day everything will end, disappear, dwindle away …
And the creation of something new will follow – an emotion, a thought, hope, a life, an artwork.
This inevitable weight, but also a gift of time, surrounds us permanently and reminds us of the importance and uniqueness of every moment of human life filled with understanding and realization. Time encompasses wisdom, human experiences, memories, dreams, emotions, joy, and sadness … it penetrates everything, conscious or unconscious, and allows us to glimpse inside a human soul.
The exhibition “Playing with Time” by Josefína Dušková and Walther Smeitink-Muhlbacher focuses precisely on this abstract perception of time, including its elusiveness and transience of everything living. Both artists attempt to capture the essence of a moment in time in their work using diverse materials, colors and concepts.
In the case of Josefína Dušková, material experimentation is defined by her use of unconventional, subtle and often transient materials, including plaster, foam rubber or paper, with which she captures the fleeting fractions of reality – “life here and now”. Josefína focuses primarily on human experiences and in her subtle imprints of the human body, which occasionally take on abstract forms, she portrays the unique depth of these moments as reminders of who we used to be, reminders of human finitude.
The line of human life pierces through Josefína’s work, time flows similarly to a river, it overcomes obstacles and barriers and navigates through the meanders of human existence. She uncovers the diverse perceptions of time, particularly as a never-ending cycle seen in nature where Josefína finds major inspiration. She is fascinated by the organic motifs of leaves, empty nests or ashes, but also the mysterious energy emitted by places where mere traces of life are apparent in the form of imprints.
Josefína also profits from the impacts of time, and she breathes new life into objects often left to disappear into oblivion, such as rusty pieces of metal, broken sculptures or bundles of old wires. These, at a first glance, desolate displays encompass unexpected tenderness and can narrate long-forgotten life stories. Rougher materials contrast with the subtlety of Josefína’s artistic expression which embodies feminine tenderness, softness and empathy.
She explores not only the individual perception of time, but also its very essence. She delves into the depths of human consciousness and unconsciousness, and in her work, she attenuates the mythical border in between them, which, at times, disappears completely. Dreams, memories and experiences become intricately interconnected and they create visually enlightened, yet emotionally intense, or even expressive installations.
Throughout his work, Walther Smeitink-Muhlbacher explores the different mechanisms of time, and the processes associated with them which he often links back to his own past and present life. His expressive art is largely based on artistic intuition, and he attempts to capture the essence of human experiences as well as the emotions they evoke.
In his paintings, he explores the different ways of capturing and portraying significant moments of human existence through earthy colors, layering of matter, and its emotional depth. In his work, unrestrained intuition and intense emotional experience meet careful rationality and give birth to conceptually supported and emotion-loaded artworks. Walther leads a lively dialogue with matter, intensified with emotions, the weight of time and mysterious symbolism.
His mainly abstract compositions embody the varying, sometimes random passing of time that we are left at the mercy of. Rusty metal installations where the traces of time are apparent serve as reminders of human finitude similarly to Walther’s work with human ashes which give his art an existential dimension.
Walther’s paintings reflect an expressive, emotional depth and radiate with lively energy. At times they are burdened with the weight of human experiences, other times they elevate them. In their subtle colors, they peacefully accept human finitude. Playful compositions, diverse materials and vivid colors based on artistic intuition, on the other hand, enliven and lighten up the emotionally intense themes of Walther’s artworks in which he delves deeper into the mysteries of the human soul.