Anton Fiala - Silent steps of ages

The exhibition will last from February 4th until February 22nd, 2004
Opening hours: daily from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. except Mondays

Straight into the eyes.

The artist presented his photographs at his first exhibition staged at the Profile Gallery in Bratislava in 1975. Klaudius Viceník, the curator of the exhibition, noted that the photographer looked, seriously and deeply, straight into the eyes of the world. The Rembrandt-like chiaroscuro, unyielding blackness and almost painfully brilliant lights of his prints sharply contrasted with his cheerful youth and invincible optimism. It was accurate.

This was the early work of the artist who presented his mature ideas executed with the craftsmanship of remarkable quality. Many pessimistic theoreticians surveying the Slovak photographic scene doubted whether his next steps would not show a reverse development. Nevertheless, Anton Fiala responded unambiguously. Armed with the same patience and determination, he went from place to place in search of his landscapes, entering timber and brick cottages in order to encounter common people, survey their usual daily environment, discover in ordinary things the forms and shapes which he managed to elevate to pictorial metaphors.

His work is the magnum opus of light. In the same way as the poet is unable to utter the stirrings of his soul in one verse, nor does the photographer tend to express himself in one shot. He tenaciously composes his pictorial mosaic of the world, one small piece after the other. The artist is not satisfied with the outward state of things, nor does he rely on the first impression. Instead, he delves into the rivers of consciousness in order to bring a testimony of the state of our souls. Without it, the picture would be incomplete. The destiny of the whole mankind is reflected in the eyes of simple, ordinary people. Fiala watches them closely without making his judgement, paying homage to their humanity. The path ending nowhere. Painted pictures, as Anton Fiala calls his prints, build a bridge from one man to another, paving our way to the whole world. They are a celebration of humanity and landscape. They are a pictorial opus of the artist, a praise of eternal optimism. Unrest lifts his feet and he sets out again on a journey to the country where the answers are blown by the wind and footfalls resound in silence. Somewhere there on the never-ending path he realises that the triumphant summer can reign even amidst the winter.

MARIÁN PAUER


ANTON FIALA
Born 1955 in Bratislava. After completing the study at the Graphic School (he specialised in photomechanical reproduction as graphic artist - photographer), in 1975 he continued studying at the Film Academy in Prague, specialising in art photography. In the period from 1973 to 2003 he had 42 solo exhibitions and participated in more than 63 exhibitions in Slovakia and abroad and won many significant awards. His photographs are included in the collections of renowned galleries and museums in Slovakia and abroad.

Armed with his camera, Anton Fiala has made a photographic survey of the Slovak regions of Liptov, Orava, Spiš and Kysuce for thirty years. To take exquisite photographs, Anton Fiala has travelled to many countries around the world. His books of landscape photography were published by Slovak and foreign publishing houses. He gave numerous talks and organised slide shows from his travels. Anton Fiala is the author and co-author of illustrations, which accompany many monographs and art books published in a number of publishing houses. His photography has been the theme of several documentary films and radio talks.