Look Again

“I paint what I see,” explains Vladimír Kokolia, adding that in order to really see something, he must also imagine the image of how he sees it. The result of his unique approach is not a “photographic” representation of the observed scene, but rather a depiction of the creation of the image while examining the object. Kokolia’s technique encourages viewers to immerse themselves in the layers of the image as he works towards depth.

This concept coincides with Kokolia’s assertion that painting is a temporal medium. To truly appreciate a painting, it requires our time. Initially, we tend to read different information from a painting, leading to the general impression that our understanding is complete. However, Kokolia believes that we only truly appreciate a painting when we allow it the gift of time. “Even an ordinary image can suddenly be transformed if we offer it the only thing we truly possess: our own time.”

Kokolia’s approach to painting focuses on the exploration of pure visual perception and challenges the dominance of language and conceptual thinking in the pictorial experience. He is concerned that our understanding is often obscured by the need for naming, which can hinder true observation. Kokolia seeks to remove these linguistic overlays in order to restore wonder and invite viewers to engage with images as if they were living beings.

Kokolia’s approach to painting focuses on the exploration of pure visual perception and challenges the dominance of language and conceptual thinking in pictorial experience. She is concerned that our understanding is often obscured by the need for naming, which can hinder true observation. Kokolia seeks to remove these linguistic overlays in order to restore wonder and invite viewers to engage with images as entities in their own right, as if they were living beings.

Amazement plays a fundamental role in his philosophy because it occurs when looking at relationships and aspects of the world for which we have no name. The sense of awe allows viewers to overcome the distance created by language and fosters a more intense physical and emotional connection with what is being observed. Kokolia seeks to create a space in which the gaze can reveal deeper connections and meanings, allowing for an authentic, unmediated experience of art. In this context, wonder becomes a transformative force that reboots the act of seeing and can redefine our perception of the visual world.

Curated by Martina Zátorská