First, take a look around. Find a raised spot in the landscape and climb up to it. Once you are at the top, you will see the horizon surrounding you – patches of forest and fields, small cars, and even smaller people slowly moving through the landscape. Let your ego dissolve and become part of the landscape.

When you stare long enough into the horizon, you may begin to read the story behind what you see – the streams of forces that have shaped it over millions of years. One geological era after another, Pangaeas, seas and giant rivers, mountain ranges – and now us, humans, reshaping the landscape with unprecedented speed and impact. Do not worry. It will all return to its former state shortly after we are gone.

The exhibition Learning from the Landscape reflects on the landscape as a living, multilayered environment that has long been a source of (not only) artistic inspiration. Through selected works by contemporary artists, curator Piotr Sikora opens reflections on the memory of place, ecology, and the imaginative potential of the landscape. As you dive deeper into the landscape that this exhibition offers, consider the question: What can we learn from the landscape around us, from each another, and from nature itself – such a patient teacher.

Exhibiting artists: Gili Avissar (IL), Larisa Crunțeanu (RO), Stach Szumski  & Tosia Kiliś (PL), Jiří Žák (CZ)

Curator: Piotr Sikora

Curatorial intervention: Pavel Liška

Graphic design: Magdalena Gurská

Production: GAMPA team – Vojtěch Novák, Ondřej Uherek, Lucie Oplíštilová, Radka Francová, Nikola Březinová a Jakub Štrba, Lukáš Kopecký

Educational programmes: Nikola Březinová

Works on loan from: Gočár Gallery

The exhibitions Learning from the Landscape at the City Gallery Pardubice (GAMPA) and the Gočár Gallery are two distinct projects of neighboring institutions, whose displays are connected through an artistic-curatorial intervention. Through this collaborative dialogue, Piotr Sikora and Pavel Liška present an artistic reflection of landscape by bringing together contemporary creative practices with the legacy of past generation.

We would like to thank the following for their financial support: Ministerstvo kultury ČR, Statutární město Pardubice

Media cooperation: Artalk.cz, Artikl, Artmap, FlashArt