Anna Kyjovská in conversation with Milan Mikuláštík

Milan Mikuláštík: How do you perceive the dichotomy between „high“ and „low“ art? Is this division an anachronism?
Anna Kyjovská:The boundaries between high and low art are blurred, but I think that both kinds of art have their value. For me, both are inspiring and have been part of the environment I come from since childhood. Perhaps high art offers more possibilities, but at the same time it is expected to be more sophisticated, educated and responsible. On the other hand, low art contains more freedom and lightness for me, although with aesthetic flaws. Overall, the distinction between high and low art is more of an anachronism for me, and it’s not important for me to deal with it too much when working.
What does the word „kitsch“ mean to you? How would you define it?
Something that has the ability to fascinate, to attract attention positively and negatively with its excessive liking (popularity?), superficiality, sentiment and nostalgia. It provokes, bores, annoys, sometimes manipulates, and in a broader context can also be ironic, sensitive and intellectual.
In your craft, you often work with references to folk culture, visual codes and customs passed down through generations. What does „tradition“ mean to you? Do you see it more as „passing“ or as „submission“ (to the rules)?
I think that the folk culture that inspires me in my work is not primarily the traditional aspect that has been passed down for generations. I rather enjoy folk work that is closer to naïve art, such as domestic art, street „visual smog“, the visuality of fairs, In my opinion, it is something more personal, even if it is related to specific events and activities. I really like the ‚Folk Archive‘ project by artists Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane, who have been involved in this type of folksiness in England for a long time. I can’t say whether it’s more about passing on or submitting to it. It seems to me that this type of ‚folksiness‘ is very unintentional and authentic.
Contemporary painting must inevitably be influenced in some way by the ubiquitous digital culture. Could you step back and try to verbalize how this influence manifests itself in your painting work?
This digital culture influences me especially when presenting my paintings on social networks. Apparently, the artist is expected to constantly update his portfolio and ‚present‘ his work. Primarily, I enjoy it and sometimes I don’t. It’s a completely different discipline than working on a painting itself. On Instagram, I present my latest work and, of course, I also follow the work of other artists there. Otherwise, the ‘internet‘ is a great medium where I get inspired and relax – bazaars, TikTok, Pinterest – these are all visually rich places.
What is your relationship to the work of other artists? Are there any favourite international artists who are authorities for you and whose exhibitions you follow? Is there an artist among your peers who you perceive as close to your own work? What is your position on the phenomenon of artistic collaboration, or collaboration between an artist and an artistic craftsman? Do you have any experience or plans for the future in this sense?
Sometimes I feel like my favourites are lost among the many authors I follow online. I often don’t remember their names, but I immediately think of Camille Henrot, Simon Ko, Agnes Scherer, and from the older artists, I love the paintings of Nicola de Maria. Of the local artists, I am definitely impressed by the paintings of Eliška Konečná and the sculptures of Tomáš Roubal. However, I was most influenced by the work of my sister Klára and husband Martin. Their work is different, even in terms of art, but for me it is very personal and close. I have never worked in an art collective or on a longer collaboration with another artist. However, I have had a couple of duo exhibitions, one of which was with my sister, and I would like to repeat it and create a larger project with her.
You recently moved your studio to the Prám studio. How do you perceive this new environment? Is communication with artists who share neighbouring studios beneficial for you?
I’m very happy there. It’s great to work in an environment that is in the closest contact with contemporary art events. It’s nice to be in touch with other inspiring artists with whom I share this place. The gallery spaces, workshops and studios are spacious, welcoming and bright. Sometimes I’m very withdrawn and work alone in silence, but I love having a kitchen together, which always connects us. It is also beneficial that every summer we meet foreign artists who work there as part of the residency program of the PRÁM studio.
Does travel influence your work? Do you visit ethnographic museums during your travels? How do you perceive the relationship between local tradition and global cultural transfers?
I don’t travel often, but I enjoy it. Even if it is supposed to be within the Czech Republic or Slovakia. I like to travel, but not alone, because I like to share experiences with someone. I visit galleries and museums depending on where I am and if I’m in the mood for it. Sometimes I choose a place based on this criterion alone. For example, when my husband and I were at the celebrations of the martyrdom of St. Vitus. Agatha in Catania, I was very impressed by the surviving authentic religious tradition. I was most impressed by the raw folk art referring to patrons and saints, installed everywhere in the city in the form of small altars – in a shopping mall, on the facades of houses, in shop windows… During this festival, it seemed to me that traditions remain firmly anchored here, even though they are exposed to global influences. Prague is great and pleasantly ‚mixed,‘ even though it is sometimes quite like Disneyland. During the day, the center seems to me like one big backdrop, and at night, when it empties a bit, it looks mysterious again.
Have you thought about moving to a larger, more cosmopolitan cultural center, or is Prague the ideal place for you to live as an artist?
So far, I’m happy in Prague.
Does reading books influence your work? If so, what kind? What book would you take with you to a desert island? What book would you borrow for your cell from the prison library?
Yes, but rather subconsciously. I am consciously influenced by fairy tales and biblical stories in my work, especially from the New Testament. Probably not a specific book. Faith plays an important role in my life, but I don’t refer specifically to Christian themes that often. My paintings are related to faith and the theme of faith, but very inconspicuously, and maybe sometimes it’s just me who perceives it. I would like to change this a bit and try to connect the motifs of everyday life with mysterious and ostentatious religious themes, and perhaps even with its iconographic elements. I am tempted to combine it with the approach of contemporary painting. I’ll see… So, I guess it would be a nice choice for me to go to prison and to the island of the ‘Bible’, and to lighten the load maybe the ‘Atlas of Dogs’.
What role does intuition play in your work? To what extent do you have control over how the final image will look? Do you have a clear idea in advance, or is there room for surprises?
I almost always have designs in a sketchbook, mobile phone or pieces of paper before working on canvas. But they are usually very rough sketches. I make a mini watercolour ‚series‘ from my favourite drawings, which I want to have on canvas as well, and it changes a bit during the process. I then finish the details on the canvas and change the colour combinations in various ways. But I always work intuitively with colour.
An important role in your work is played by the object, often with an emphasis on the material used and the craftsmanship. However, these objects are always more of a kind of complement to the paintings. Haven’t you thought about a purely sculptural installation?
That’s right. I like to accompany painting with a different artistic medium and I often return to my primary inspiration – both children’s and home art. I use typical techniques for them, such as crumpling, gum painting, papier-mâché, crackling and others. At the moment, I am preparing several larger papier-mâché objects for an exhibition that will be in the autumn at the Faculty of Fine Arts Gallery in Brno. It will be a larger sculptural installation, but the objects will be exhibited together with paintings that will complement and support them in various ways. I probably can’t imagine them without them yet. Painting is still primary for me. Anyway, one room in the gallery will be dedicated only to these objects, so I’ll see how it will hold up.
What trends in art do you consider to be the truly contemporary and current?
For me, something that is somehow timeless is always relevant. I feel that the work of people around me is becoming more and more personal, intimate and sensitive. I don’t know if it’s a trend, but honesty will probably always be relevant.
If you had to describe the current social situation in one word, what would it be?
Skibidi.
Blue or green?
Both.

Above: Anna Kyjovská, Dear to Me, 150×130 cm, oil on canvas, 2023