Vojtěch Kovařík's "In Between" at Mendes Wood DM New York Rethinks the Monument
From September 9 to October 24, 2026, Mendes Wood DM in New York will host "In Between," a solo exhibition featuring Czech artist Vojtěch Kovařík at 60 East 66th Street. This showcase delves into the evolving role of myth, preserving grand forms while shifting their meanings. Featured pieces include "Between Two Worlds" (2026), "Aglauros, Herse and Pandrosos" (2026), "Born of the Sea" (2026), "The Shape of Waiting" (2026), "What the Night Reveals" (2026), and "Blue Embrace" (2026). Kovařík's background in ceramics and sculpture informs his art, merging strength with fragility. The exhibition challenges the authenticity of power in visual representations, emphasizing the dual nature of the body as both monumental and precarious, with the monument's endurance rendering it relevant today.
Key facts
- "In Between" by Vojtěch Kovařík runs 09/09/2026 – 24/10/2026 at Mendes Wood DM, 60 East 66th Street, New York
- Kovařík transforms myth's function rather than updating it, preserving monumental gravity while altering meaning
- His archive combines archaic frontality, Greek statuary, Eastern European monuments, Socialist Realism, Picasso and Léger via Lévi-Strauss's bricolage
- "Aglauros, Herse and Pandrosos" (2026) is acrylic and sand on canvas, 254 x 200 x 6 cm
- "Born of the Sea" (2026) draws on Aphrodite's birth, acrylic and sand on canvas, 224 x 204 x 8 cm
- "The Shape of Waiting" (2026) is acrylic and oil on canvas, 200 x 180 cm
- "What the Night Reveals" (2026) uses acrylic, crackle medium and sand on canvas, 63.5 x 83.5 x 6 cm
- "Blue embrace" (2026) is a glass work, 36 x 80 x 30 cm
- Prometheus and Epimetheus appear alongside Socialist Realism and Stakhanovite imagery in "The One Who Thinks Before and The One Who Thinks After"
- Kovařík's ceramics and sculpture training surfaces in sand mixed with paint and almost carved volumes
- A comparison with Georg Baselitz addresses the historical figure surviving its own stability
Entities
Artists
- Vojtěch Kovařík
- Pablo Picasso
- Fernand Léger
- Claude Lévi-Strauss
- Georg Baselitz
- Aglauros
- Herse
- Pandrosos
- Aphrodite
- Prometheus
- Epimetheus
Institutions
- Mendes Wood DM
- Juliet Art Magazine
Locations
- New York
- United States
- São Paulo
- Brazil
- Brussels
- Belgium
- Paris
- France
- Eastern Europe
- Greece