Although the roots of Slovak visual art go back to the Romanesque style, we start talking about its beginnings only from the 19th century, when, due to the influence of the Štúrovs and the national revival, it began to have real signs of national art and national mentality. In this period, the city of Košice also becomes an important center of cultural life with a deep tradition in figurative painting. And we went to the Eastern Slovak metropolis to interview Dorota Kenderová, a native of Rožomberok, who has been working for three years as the director of one of the most important cultural institutions in this beautiful city of the Eastern Slovak Gallery in Košice. (VSG)
How did you get the job of director of VSG?
After completing my doctoral studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, I stayed there as a teaching assistant at the Department of Intermedia. I was already tired of the academic environment after so many years and I was thinking about some change, not only professional, but also geographical. At the same time, the case of wiretapping of employees in the gallery by the former director, which I followed carefully, was connected with the East Slovak Gallery. Then when he "voluntarily" resigned and a position became available, I thought for the first time whether I should give it a try. In the end, I didn't apply for the first audition and neither did anyone else, so from that moment I started to deal with this idea and study information about the East Slovak Gallery. The second audition was only half a year later, and I applied there already sufficiently prepared.
VSG is the oldest regional gallery in Slovakia. Didn't you have respect from the leadership of such a large institution with a long history?
She had, but on the other hand, I was aware of my abilities and that I understand working with art very well.
Where is VSG going? Do you have room to push your own vision into the gallery, or are your hands tied as the director of a contributing organization?
The collections of the East Slovakian Gallery consist mainly of works from the 19th and 20th centuries. Its main mission is to map and present art in the East Slovak region. However, our common ambition in the team is to create a dynamic supra-regional institution from the gallery with a diverse and foreign exhibition program. I think we are doing well so far.
What are the most important events awaiting VSG this year?
At the moment, preparations are in full swing for the exhibitions of Lac Teren, an artist of the middle generation of authors, and František Foltýn, one of the representatives of Košice modernism, on which we are cooperating with the Moravian Gallery in Brno. The exhibition will map the author's work from Košice modernism to Parisian abstraction and will be contextually complemented by other authors of Košice modernism from the collections of the East Slovak Gallery. Of course, there are also exhibitions of contemporary art. An exhibition of the Czech video artist Mark Thero is currently underway, which deals with the fate of Germans in Czechoslovakia after World War II. war. In the gallery, Mark prepared a suggestive interior of an interwar villa, reminiscent of movie sets in which something happens, or nothing happens there at all. At the end of 2019, together with the Center of Contemporary Art Foundation, we will open an exhibition of the finalists of the Oskar Čepan Award, which is intended for artists under 40 and is part of the international (YVAA) Young Visual Artist Award.
Does VSG organize any other events and activities besides the exhibition activity?
Of course. Each exhibition has a rich accompanying program from lectures, through creative workshops, artist presentations, guided tours. Our accompanying programs are also divided by generation. The VSG mini format is new, for parents in kindergarten with children from 1.5 to 3 years old. The program is focused on the development of fine motor skills, symbolic thinking and cognitive skills. We think about the future and that is why we educate visitors, artists or future employees of the gallery from an early age.
You look very young. Didn't you initially have a problem with authority, especially with older colleagues?
We have a fairly young team, so we respect each other with our colleagues. However, it is true that looking young and being a woman in office is often the target of various insinuations and questioning. I try to either ignore these remarks or diplomatically address them. However, when it crosses the lines of decency, I can be very strict and take it back.
You are a trained artist. Do you still have time for your own work?
I don't like this question very much. The fact that I don't create is not a lack of time, but a questioning of myself. I am very (not only) self-critical and a perfectionist, so I don't create even if I really want to. Hopefully my time will come.
You come from Ružomberok, you worked in Bratislava, wasn't it difficult for you to get used to the new life in the East Slovak metropolis?
It was very simple. Before the Second World War, Košice was a very lively avant-garde and multicultural center with a large artistic background, and I think that still permeates here. In addition, the city suits me proportionally, visually, and humanly. The only thing I'll probably never get used to is the Eastern accent, but you can live with it.
What hobbies does the director of an important cultural institution have?
Culture in general, nightlife and social life, books, and various sports. And I like plants and botanical gardens.
What does your job mean to you?
I can't think of anything better right now. I enjoy art the most.
The interview was prepared by: Vladimír Dubeň