The jubilee exhibition of Peter Pollág presented a large selection from his work from the last twenty
years. Painting is an essential part of his creative work, from which evolve other branches: drawing, graphic art, book illustration, monumental work, mosaic and textile hangings. The scope of art forms is associated with the artist’s continuous need for experimentation and discovery. The cultural background to his art has been associated with his wanderlust. New countries and cultures are deposited in his work like geological layers, creating a single structured whole. Yet he also draws on the old masters, interpreting them in the contemporary idiom. His paintings emanate the feeling of humility and respect for the greatness of the human spirit. The subject matter ranges from Biblical motifs, Greek legends, great battles and famous figures to themes from contemporary life. Pollág executes his works without pathos, but with great verve. He often applies paint to relief structures, combining it with other materials, endowing the painting with tactile character. Pollág’s treatment of paint breathes life into his pictures; they appear to be a variable biological material. Compositions are dominated by shades of red in context with other hues, accentuated and radiating. Pollág’s richly structured painting with sophisticated visual symbolism encourages dialogue with the viewers.
Born on 19 February 1958 in Levoča. From 1977 to 1983 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava. Later he complemented his studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti Pietro Vanucci in Perugia (1980), the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (1984 – 1989), the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris (1986 – 1987) and at the Facultad de Bellas Artes at Universidad Complutense de Madrid (1988). He taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava (1983 – 1990). Since 1990 he has focused on creative work. The artist has had a great number of solo and joint exhibitions and his works can be found in public and private collections on four continents. He has participated in many symposia and creative stays including in France, Zimbabwe, Zambia, China, Mexico, Israel, Italy, Greece, Ethiopia and Iran. He has been awarded a number of prestigious awards at home and abroad for his work. He lives in Bratislava and creates small-size and monumental paintings, drawings, graphic prints, book illustrations and sculptures.
