In the first two parts of our series, we introduced you to six creative journeys from the HYB4 Art Studios residency. Today, we conclude the series with the final trio: a collective of three artists, a textile artist, and an artist who blurs the lines between drawing, painting, and living sculpture in his work.
What do light, the street, and memory have in common?
Jan Slanina and Jura Piršč are studying together in the Intermedia 1 Studio led by Milena Dopitová at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Jan Slanina has also collaborated with Matěj Janák in the past. Together, they created the triptych ¥€$ and presented an exhibition at the Urban Spree gallery in Berlin titled Consequences, which focused on internet phenomena and consumer society. Now, all three are combining their approaches for HYB4 Art Studios.
Jan Slanina came to visual art through his work with light, having previously been a light designer in the underground rave scene. His work explores the transformations of contemporary society, particularly the phenomenon of labor, technologization, and their social and political consequences. He works with the language of digital technology, installation, objects, and light.
A distinctive element of his work is neon, which he designs and produces himself. He uses light and kinetics to examine the instability of systems that influence the modern world. For example, he has addressed the absence of depictions of aging in public spaces and the labor camps in the Jáchymov region, where uranium was mined in the 1950s. He received an award for his work in the ČT art Artelier competition.
Matěj Janák draws from the visual language of graffiti and his own personal experience. In his painting, objects, conceptual work, and audiovisual projects, he works with symbols associated with everyday life, internal states, and the ways we cope with them. His work oscillates between the personal and the universal, between spontaneous gesture and conscious image construction.
A key moment for him was mastering the airbrush technique, which he turned to after a serious accident in which he nearly lost his right hand. He has held solo exhibitions at venues including Karpuchina Gallery, Chemistry Gallery, and right here at Kampus Hybernská, where he previously presented the exhibition FALLEN.
Jura Piršč, a student in the Intermedia 1 Studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, focuses on nostalgia, communication, and interpersonal relationships across generations. Through sculpture and installation, he explores the transience of childhood, personal and collective memory, and the ways memories change over time. He connects historical references with contemporary questions of identity, individuality, and the relationship between a person and their social environment.
You can follow Jan Slanina's work on Instagram (@janslanina_), the work of Jura Piršč on Instagram (@jurapirsc) and the work of Matěj Janák on the The Chemistry Gallerywebsite.
What do textiles have in common with water?
Adéla Holešová, a graduate of the Textile Studio at UMPRUM in Prague, connects various materials through textiles and experimental knitting techniques. She views textiles as a medium capable of bringing objects to life, softening their hardness, and disrupting their rigid structure. Her creative process is largely intuitive and influenced by the subconscious, resulting in organic forms that reflect inner experiences and unconscious impulses.
A central theme of her work is water. For her, it carries various meanings, ranging from psychological and emotional levels to ecological and social contexts. Water serves as a link between humans and the landscape, as well as a way to reflect on our relationship with the natural environment and how we utilize it.
This exploration of the relationship to place was also the basis for her bachelor's thesis, Fantastic Bathroom, presented at Czech Design Week. In it, she translated the psychology of space into a visually tactile world that transcends the traditional concept of a textile product. She followed this up with the work Knitting Process, created as part of the Imprintsproject.
You can find her profile on the UMPRUM website.
Dominic Hafner works at the intersection of drawing, painting, and living sculpture. He is interested in what happens during the artistic process itself and how materials, space, and the people involved influence it. By combining experimental and interdisciplinary approaches, he often creates participatory situations that involve other artists and viewers, blurring the lines between the creator, the work, and the audience.
The final trio of residents brings not only a variety of media and working methods but also several recurring themes. These include memory, the relationship to place, personal experience, and the way individual stories are inscribed into shared space.
Jan Slanina works with stories and places that often fade from public memory, whether it concerns old age, the uranium camps in the Jáchymov region, or forgotten workers' associations. Matěj Janák draws on his own experience with the graffiti scene, and his paintings connect expressive painting with references to personal and collective memories. Jura Piršč explores the transience of childhood and how generations pass on personal and shared memories.
Adéla Holešová combines textiles with the theme of water, using it to reflect on the relationship between humans and the landscape. Dominic Hafner, meanwhile, creates situations in which the artwork becomes not just an object, but a shared experience.
With this piece, we conclude our series on the HYB4 Art Studios residency. However, one studio is still waiting for its new resident. Its occupant will be decided by a selection process announced by Open Studios Art Hub as part of the Open Studios Incubator program, which is intended for recent graduates of master's programs in fine arts. As soon as the name is known, we will let you know.
On the open house day, Thursday, October 1st, you can meet the entire HYB4 Art Studios residency team directly in their individual studios and get a glimpse into their work in progress.
Previous parts:
Graphic workshop, shared identity, and the body as an archive. Three more stories from the HYB4 Art Studios residency
A photographer, a painter, and a poet: the first three new faces of the HYB4 Art Studios residency
