Renata Machýčková
Renata Machýčková is one of the distinctive voices of the artistic generation that emerged on the Czech art scene after 2010. Her multidisciplinary practice encompasses several distinct yet interconnected strands, moving between painting, drawing, paper cutting and material experimentation. One of the most recognisable aspects of her work is an intricate and highly individual technique of paper cutting, through which she creates striking abstract compositions with a delicate decorative quality. In contrast, her paintings often feature unsettling, almost subversive faces and figures, developed through a combination of acrylic paint and spray techniques. Another significant part of her practice consists of experimental works with red wax, which seems to flow organically, almost bodily, from wooden frames, challenging the boundaries between image, object and material. Machýčková’s artistic language is deeply informed by her earlier experience in the modelling industry, which continues to shape her exploration of the objectification of the female body, beauty standards and the representation of femininity. Her work offers an uncompromising perspective on these subjects, while simultaneously celebrating the sensitivity of the handmade and the poetic potential of materials, particularly in her intricate paper works and expressive use of red wax. Throughout her practice, she explores the tension between beauty and discomfort, fragility and physicality, control and spontaneity. Her work is characterised by a distinctive visual language that moves between the figurative and the abstract, the intimate and the provocative. Born in Valašské Meziříčí, Czech Republic, Machýčková studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where she worked in the studios of Vladimír Skrepl and Jiří Kovanda. Although painting and drawing have always remained at the core of her practice, she continuously explores new creative approaches and material possibilities. She has exhibited in galleries in the Czech Republic and internationally, and currently lives and works in Bergamo, northern Italy