Pavel Kytner↓

About the work

Trees nearby houses aren’t many

Over the course of his studies, Pavel Kytner has systematically focused on the subject of the landscape, the relationships between objects, and the position of the observer. It is thus no surprise that in his graduation work he explores the relationship between nature and architecture. Although at first glance it may appear that his work is only about environmental destruction, this is not the case. Rather, the choice of subject matter sprang from a pragmatic observation of bizarre vegetative and architectural compositions, into which he subsequently projected his subjective ideas. He was fascinated by the ordinary, proven contrast between organic structures and the cold, precise, and geometrical surfaces of buildings. The work’s subjective content is found in a sense of empathy with the organic element, with the artist expressing feelings of exclusion, of isolation from the collective or society. On the basis of these feelings, he has produced a work that, during the creative process, brought up various environmental associations. The isolated trees thus became a means for exploring more general ideas and people’s attitudes towards urban vegetation.

The manner in which Pavel Kytner reflected on the subject is clearly visible in the paintings that he has produced, for they reflect his changing ideas, contents, and perspectives. The paintings thus testify to feelings of isolation, oppression, formal contrasts between stylistic approaches, the differences between vegetation and architecture, changing views of the traditional landscape, and our attitude toward nature.