It’s not a good idea to look directly into the eyes of a tiger, but now there is no other way. Igor Piačka has taken the head of this predator as the leitmotif of his jubilee exhibition at the Danubiana. The mesmerizing green eyes of this feline beast paralyze spectators as they slowly realize that the artistic ride with Igor won’t be an idyllic walk through the sun-bathed Čunovo peninsula where the waves tenderly splash against its stone base. In this painting it is clear that the artist is open to the inspirations and influences of various art tendencies and media, sometimes operating on their borders. At the beginning, the picture is abstract but its final definition is real. The abstract underpainting determines the energetic radiation and color atmosphere, while the realistic details complete the story and actors. This exhibition confirms Igor’s shift to painting. Although his prints, illustrations and postmarks have made their way into the general public’s awareness, in his own words, painting has brought new adventures, greater freedom, spontaneity as well as a multi-meaning content. In the most recent publication about his life and work which was released by the IKAR publishing house and which is also featured at this exhibition, he states, “Drawing is still the skeleton of my work, painting its body and color the blood in the veins. I often work with a similar theme in prints and painting, however painting is gaining the upper hand… It allows for larger formats and the details are not so miniature.” This is also why large formats, which are frequently composed of several parts, appear at this exhibition. They become windows into the fine art worlds in which this artist can take a deeper breath. He convinces us that the design and beauty of forms – of the human body or nature – can be better experienced and enjoyed on a large canvass. The artist, who was born under the sign of the Tiger according to the Chinese horoscope, adds, “This is also a manifestation of my artistic hedonism,” But many of you have surely suspected that. Who else would be able to stare into the eyes of the beast?
Ľudovít Petránsky
Igor Piačka was born on October 8, 1962 in Třebíč, Czech Republic. In 1989 he graduated from the Department of Free Printmaking and Book Illustration of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, where he was supervised by such outstanding figures as prof. Albín Brunovský, prof. Karol Ondreička, prof. Igor Rumanský and doc. Ján Lebiš. Based on the recommendation of prof. Brunovský he did an internship at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels (under prof. Philippe Maes). In 1988 Piačka married Júlia Kaňová, who in 1987 graduated from the Department of Textile Design of the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava. The newlyweds moved to Pezinok in the Little Carpathians and have lived there ever since. From 1990 to 2003, he was an assistant professor at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava before going on to work as a freelance artist. He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Slovakia and abroad and has received many prestigious awards. His first monograph, published in 2012 (JAGA publishing house), was followed by a second publication ten years later (IKAR publishing house).
