American curator Lisa Berman prophetically stated that “Slovaks have not yet got the timeless work of Ondrej Rudavský. But the time will come when they realize what a brilliant artist they have.” The time has come, I think. Rudavský’s originality and exceptionality are manifested in his paintings, sculptures, films and video installations. An exclusive profile of his entire work from the late 1980s up to the present: animated video installations on HDTV monitors, sculptures, jewelry, small objects, and various sketches will be on view in the “heart” of the Danubiana. It will be complemented by large-scale archival prints which he creates with paint and collages, sometimes reliefs and movable plastic elements. He captures various forms of dreams, fantasies and the mysterious game of the contemporary world. They contain metamorphoses of his endless imagination as well as permanent dialogues between art and society and are transformed into suggestive colorful expression, metaphorical language and an imaginative interplay of symbols and signs. He frequently presents strong experiences and inspirations from the American scene along with the spiritual values of his homeland. He composes them on various levels and layers with variations and overlaps. They are symbols of the meaningful contrast of the empirical and emotional perception of people of certain periods of time. Daring tones of colors applied in an impressive creative painting style and film elements overlap with dynamic line. His ideas and dreams are enchanted in mystical compositions, three-dimensional objects and motion sequels. Rudavský expresses his desire for harmony in this chaotic world through surprising means of expression; he frequently brings along his own elements of understanding spirituality and balance in the inner world of contemporary people and civilization in a chaotic mixture of perceptions, impulses and information. We can find references as well as the search for human and artistic spacetime, artistic understanding of gigantic infinity and a boundless view of the micro and macro cosmos.
Ondrej Rudavský was born on March 10, 1966 in Bratislava. From 1978 to 1982 he studied at the Secondary School of Applied Arts in Bratislava and from 1984 to 1986 he studied in the studio of animation under prof. Jágr at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. In 1986 he emigrated to the United States, where he lived and worked in New York and Los Angeles. He currently lives and works in Bratislava. Rudavsky works in a multitude of media: experimental film and animation, digital art, video installations, sculpture, painting, prints, illustration and jewelry.
His Grammy nomination for his animated art music video for Los Lobos was followed by winning the MTV Award International; International Monitor Awards; the Cine Golden Eagle Award. Rudavsky’s works have been shown world-wide at hundreds of film festivals, museums, and galleries, including: Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1991; Bronx Museum of Arts, New York, 1991; XLVII Venice Biennial, Italy, 1997; EXPO in Hannover, Germany, 1999; University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, 2000; Los Angeles International Biennial, 2005; Sundance; New York Film festival, Lincoln Center; Annecy Film Festival; Hiroshima Film Festival; Burning Man Festival in Nevada. His works can be found in important galleries, museums and collections all over the world.
www.ondrejrudavsky.com
