Peter Cvik ( b.1985 ) lives and works in Bratislava, Slovakia. Besides a B.A. and M.A., Peter also holds a PhD in Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Bratislava (AFAD). Peter spoke with the curator and entrepreneur Adele Smejkal about his solo show of landscape paintings entitled ‘Flow’ recently opening at White & Weiss Contemporary Art Gallery in Bratislava. Adele co-founded The Art/choke and is currently developing her own online gallery platform due to launch in September.

Adele: When looking at the works in your exhibition, we basically see landscape paintings. Can you tell us how you choose your landscape to paint? Where does the inspiration come from?

Peter: It’s been almost two years since I stopped using any digital media as a sketch for painting. I am researching the possibilities of my visual memory. I can say that my works are transmissions of visual sediments in my mind through the medium of painting. My inspiration comes from moments in my everyday life and thoughts. Memories are not coming to me in chronological order, so sometimes You can find a mixture of few moments and places in one piece.

Adele: How does the title of the show – “Flow” relate to the body of your work in the exhibition?

Peter: I consider the whole process of painting to be a ‘flow.’ From the first impulse that comes to my mind, till the signature. The working name of the displayed series is “Things go smoother when I lose control” that perfectly answers this question. Painting is a physical act that needs specific energy or concentration.

Once I start, it is hard to leave until I am satisfied with transmitted thoughts.

Adele: I am fascinated by your technique. Can you tell me about the process – how do you paint?

Peter: From the moment I start working on a piece, it is composed of several repetitive actions in the studio. The process is interrupted, but on the other hand, it gives me the possibility to forget the memories I was composing from. So, every day I am reacting to a new situation on canvas. I layer it by different elements and atmosphere until I see a beautiful picture in front of me, and on my wall in the studio. Then it is time to destroy this perfect beauty that reminds me of life- that gives me another point of view for whole work.

After stepping back, I start to create details that are not sharp in my memories. I am using painting interventions that give the whole piece an atmosphere of visual tension.

Adele: How did you develop this painting technique? Was it a gradual development, or did you get direct inspiration from something or somewhere?

Peter: I was doing different kinds of works during my studies. I went through technique development from pictures that were based on the fragmentation of my photos of the city and rendered in graphical software for offering a new visual experience. All the images were sharp-edged with a lot of details. During my Ph.D. studies, I researched layering in the painting - from the thematic principle to material solutions. After finishing my studies, I got back to pure painting again but with a different kind of attitude. I want my paintings to be full of air. It is also and an individual challenge to be able to paint the landscape as traditional form but in a contemporary way and my signature style.

Adele: This might be an odd question- but do you feel similarly connected to each piece in the show, or do you have a painting that is your favorite and/or your least favorite?

Peter: I consider and compose the whole series as one big piece, I would say. This series contains around 5O pieces, and there are 16 pieces displayed in the exhibition. So I compose the exhibition as a story I want to tell to the audience. The installation of the show is very important to me; it evokes the experience of a dramatic gradation with personal interpretations for the audience. My favorites ones are the sold ones :)

Adele: You are one of the first artists to have a show after/during the covid19 crisis. How do you feel about it? Has the situation impacted your creativity and artistic creation?

Peter: I am very happy that galleries are reopening again around Europe and the globe. This is a great feeling. I am also pleased that galleries decide to continue with their programs even if it’s later then planned. The whole exhibition was scheduled for the end of March. I was supposed to be in Cité Des Arts Internationale in Paris for two months residency now, so I am pleased that this show is postponed but still happening. Well, my life did not change that much. To be a painter, it means spending a lot of time alone in the studio. I can say that I’ve been in quarantine for the last 15 years. Of course, I missed meeting friends and going for openings and so on, but It gives me also a considerable distance from daily routines. I am glad that here in Slovakia, it was possible to go to the studio. The distance gave me different thoughts and, of course, impulses for new series.

Adele: Do you have other plans – exciting projects or exhibitions coming up in the near future?

Peter: Most of the exhibitions abroad were postponed or canceled, but there is one group show in the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum in Bratislava that should be open during autumn. I am very excited about it; the space is just breath-taking. And I am also already preparing some new works for my next solo show in Guler Sanat Gallery in Ankara/Turkey. The gallery invited me to do a residency to finalize the exhibition. The space is quite big, so I am already preparing new works for it. Another residency - in Paris is postponed for January and February 2021. Then I have a solo show planned for March 2021 in the institutional gallery Galéria Jána Koniarka that is a district gallery of the Slovak National Gallery in Trnava. Lastly, another solo show is planned in the huge gallery Důl Michal in Ostrava set for May 2021. The space is almost 1000 square meters with a huge hall, so I am preparing 3D objects that are connected to my paintings for this occasion.

Besides that, some group shows are going to happen here and there, but all of us need to be patient with planning right now as they are not 100% confirmed yet.

Adele: I have one last question that I like to ask every time I interview an artist – If you could meet any living or non-living artist for a conversation, who would it be?

Peter: I prefer to speak to living artists, and it would be great to meet my art friends from around the world now. If I have to choose from death ones I would meet Picasso. There are some questions on specific works and periods that I would love to ask him. And If he is not available for the moment, I would love to show Andy Warhol how his art impacted and changed the world to its current visual mode.

Peter Cvik in Conversation with Adele Smejkal