̶U̶N̶FINISHED

They say the hardest thing to do is to start… but sometimes it can be much harder to finish something.

Sometimes an author starts to create a work with a clear vision, but may not always succeed in fulfilling it. Many of us suffer from a disease called perfectionism and have the need to constantly tweak and improve things. So sometimes the final touches on a piece can stretch on indefinitely. At other times, a piece may come into being without a clear pre-determined vision, out of a sudden impulse or experiment. Occasionally, in the creative process, an author may simply reach a dead end and remain stuck in it. Many great artists hide years of smudged canvases, half-worked pieces of marble, deconstructed word documents, and many other semi-works of various shapes, textures, colors, and sizes in their studios.

In the interdisciplinary project UNFINISHED, the search for the boundary between the unfinished and the finished becomes an artistic experiment. What exactly makes a work finished? How do factors – work-in-progress, postponement, or even forgetfulness – influence its journey to this grand finale? In this project, the artwork does not stop at unfinished boundaries, but instead comes to enrich itself with new layers in collaboration with other artists.

UNFINISHED is not afraid of sudden twists and turns. At the beginning of March, we decided to break with the tradition where artists display works in their final form for public admiration and show the “semi-finished works” that have been hidden and put away until now. A few weeks passed and the works, after an artistic exchange, took on their final state. But what makes them finished? Come and see the participating artists and their works.

Participating artists:
Tomáš Deák x Juraj Mydla & Magdaléna Žiaková
Palo Lipa x Tomáš Deák
Lena Gallovičová x Kata Knežníková
Matej Kaminský x Palo Lipa
Juraj Mydla & Magdaléna Žiaková x Matej Kaminský

The opening will also include an UNFINISHED performance by Laura Fedorová and the creative collective Viktória Vadovičová, Viktória Orendášová, Natália Horbaľová, Veronika Miftakhova.

Prepared by the curatorial team of the A4 Gallery:
Patricia Batki, Nina de Gelder, Jos Leys, Celestína Minichová, Simona Pallesichová, Michaela Prablesková, Hugo Rayman, Martin Toldy

Supported using public funding by Slovak Arts Council and Bratislava City Foundation.