Oto Bachorík – Transformations

In the House of Arts Piešťany, the Fine Arts Fund traditionally presents its award, this time for the year 2024. Zora Petrášová, chairwoman of the Fine Arts Fund Council, specified that for the past five years, the Fund has been awarding the prize for lifetime achievement and cultural contribution to distinguished Slovak authors precisely at the House of Arts of the Slovak Philharmonic in Piešťany. During the 21st edition, the Fund honored sculptor and art restorer maestro Oto Bachorík with this prestigious recognition, enriching the list of esteemed laureates with both his name and a splendid selection of works. As exhibition curator Mária Horváthová mentioned in her laudatio, “the awarding of this prize has become an opportunity to recall the unique creativity, deep dedication, and originality of Oto Bachorík’s work, which, through the profound human content of his sculptural and painterly expression, has transcended the borders of our country.” The artistic gesture embodied in his work offers a unique insight into the world of European cultural archetypes and values, speaking to us in a universally comprehensible language. Mythology, natural motifs, magical and spiritual references defining humanity’s place in the cosmos form the central theme of Bachorík’s authorial expression in the Piešťany exhibition titled Transformations. Indeed, the exhibition of selected works captures not only the timeline of the unique story of the sculptor’s maturation and stylistic genesis, but also directly invites visitors to reflect on humankind and its place in the world. Bachorík’s sculptures are torsos of human bodies, forms of a fantastic zoology from ancient times, fragments of reality and imagination that, through the richness of his artistic vision, have been transformed into rounded shapes and abstracted lines. His work—both monumental and intimate—is expressively dramatic, yet at the same time full of moving symbolism and human humility. Through its signs and purity of form, it celebrates humanity, its andréia—masculine strength and courage—as well as its agápē—sacrifice, tenderness, and beauty. It is clearly visible in the Piešťany exhibition that the artist carved, modeled, and cast his works with unmistakable spontaneity and passion. But in the House of Arts, Oto Bachorík also speaks through painting. Robust gestures of figures set into motionless eternity—always a model of the classical ideal for artists—supplemented by subtle surrealist elements, provide the visitor with undeniable proof of his artistic virtuosity and originality in drawing and painting as well. The Piešťany exhibition, titled Transformations, highlights not only the metamorphoses of materials used in the artist’s expression—in painting, stone sculpture, wooden carvings, and bronzes—but is itself a metamorphosed story of the evolution of an original signature moving toward volumetric clarity and material purity. The vitalist energy of the displayed works, both monumental and chamber-sized, demonstrates Bachorík’s mastery of modeling—something visitors of Cinematik can witness firsthand in the gallery of the House of Arts of the Slovak Philharmonic in Piešťany.

Exhibition, min.