Pavla Sceranková is a sculptor and teacher. She was born in 1980 in Košice, Slovakia and has been living and working in Prague since 2000.
She studied from 2000-2006 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where she successfully completed her doctoral studies in 2011 and was appointed associate professor in 2021. As part of her scholarships, she completed a year-long internship with Prof. Tony Gragg in Berlin, in Quebec, Canada, or in Budapest. Since 2015, she has been leading the Intermedia Studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague with Dušan Zahoranský.
Sceranková has presented her work in a number of solo exhibitions, for example at the Fait Gallery in Brno
(with Dušan Zahoranský, 2019), Pump House Gallery in London (with Lucie Sceranková, 2016), Moravian Gallery in Brno (2014), and the Prague City Gallery (2013 and 2011). She was invited to participate in the international group exhibition Model at the Rudolfinum Gallery in Prague (2015), and participated in the group exhibition Europe Europe at the Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo (2014) under the curatorial supervision of Gunnar Kvaran and Ulrich Obrist. In 2015, she was a finalist for the Jindřich Chalupecký Award for the second time (the first time in 2007). She was awarded the Václav Chad Prize at the Zlín Salon of Youth (2009) and the Cyprian Prize at the Trnava Biennial (2007). Her works are represented in the collections of the National Gallery in Prague, the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava, the Prague City Gallery and a number of European private collections.
She has realized several projects in public space. In collaboration with Dušan Zahoranský, she created the installation Sundial for the City Tower in Pankrác, Prague (2024), a playground in Kysucké Nové Město (2020), and a playground in Litomyšl (2017). In 2022, she completed the War Veterans Memorial in Ostrava.
artist statement
She creates sculptural objects and installations that are in close relation to a given place and the presence of the observer. The objects often invite the viewer to lend them the energy through their touch. She creates video sculptures in which the object is performed in the digital space of the video. She is concerned with reflecting on human perception and individual experience of the world around us. She explores how this experience has been preserved in memory and what form it has taken. In the course of her work, she returns to themes that transcend her as a human being and that may be difficult to grasp in ordinary language. The author translates such themes to a human scale and relates them to everyday life. She draws inspiration from chance encounters; with an abandoned machine, a physical law or a woman in a swimming pool. In these moments, real things and people meet the artist's personal reflections. Autonomous novelties are thus created, which help to gain distance from things that are difficult to name.
She has long been interested in the role art can play in a world that is confronted daily with the reality of ongoing crises. She asks what is the capacity of the artist to engage in the process. She wishes to create a situation in which the viewer would say: "Yes, this is how I feel, this is how I feel. It seems that I am not alone in this. It seems that I am not alone in this. Someone perceives it. I'm not completely invisible. I'm not completely invisible." She would like to contribute to the invention of a language that connects people.
studies
2021 Habilitation in Fine Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague
2011 Dissertation in Fine Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague
2000–2006 Master Studies in Intermedia at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague
Professional experiences (selection)
2015–2023 Head of Intermedia 2 Studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague together with Dušan Zahoranský
2010–2015 University of Hradec Králové, Department of Art, Visual Culture and Textile Studies
2011 Assistant at the Visiting Professor Studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague
2007–2010 History of Multimedia, lecture series, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies of Art, Design and Advanced Technologies, University of West Bohemia, Pilsen
Scholarships and awards
2019 Donumenta, Regensburg
2019 Finalist of Award of Zbyněk Baladrán for 2018
2018 Finalist of Czech Architecture Award
2010 Visegrad Artist Residency Program, Studio of Young Artists’ Association, Budapest
2009 Pépinières Européennes pour Jeunes Artistes, Coopérative Méduse, Québec
2009 Václav Chad Award, 5th Zlín Youth Salon
2007 Cyprián Award, Scooter – Biennial of Young Art, Trnava
2006 DAAD scholarship, UdK Berlin
2006 Rector’s Award, Academy of Fine Arts in Prague
2004 Erasmus scholarship, Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen
2002 Künstlerwege scholarship, ABK Stuttgart
2002 Josef Hlávka Award, Prague
solo exhibitions
2025 Moths who eat through hands into the lights, curated by Bori Szalai, 8smička, Humpolec
2023 A head that wakes up at four in the morning, curated by Pavel Kubesa, NoD Gallery
2022 Miloš, curated by Václav Janoščík, Gallery of Modern Art in Hradec Králové
2019 Work on the Future, with Dušan Zahoranský, curated by Václav Janoščík, Fait Gallery, Brno
2018 Moon by Day, curated by Jiří Ptáček, Moon by Day Gallery, České Budějovice
2017 Surface Tensions, with Lucia Sceranková, curated by Lily Hall, Pump House Gallery, London
2015 Collision of Galaxies, curated by Nina Vrbanová, House of Arts / Kunsthalle Bratislava
2015 Veritas, curated by Alexandra Landré, Lucie Drdova Gallery, Prague
2014 The Old Light in the Galaxies Department, curated by Jan Zálešák, Fait Gallery, Brno
2014 Message from the Neocortex (reinstallation), curated by Petra Lexová, G9 Gallery, České Budějovice
2013 Constellation, curated by Yvona Ferencová, Moravian Gallery in Brno
2013 Anniversary, with Dušan Zahoranský, curated by Michal Pěchouček, 35M2 Gallery, Prague
2013 Woman in the Moon, curated by Sandra Baborovská, City Gallery Prague
2012 Missing Chapter, curated by Tereza Stejskalová, Lucie Drdova Gallery, Prague
2012 Green Album, curated by Petr Kovář, Magda Garguláková, Ondřej Navrátil, OFF/FORMAT Gallery, Brno
2011 Loud, curated by Nina Vrbanová, Cyprián Majerník Gallery, Bratislava
2011 A Message from the Neocortex, curated by Sandra Baborovská, Goldern Ring House, City Gallery Prague
2009 Alles wird gut, curated by František Kowolowski, G99, Brno
2009 Brain Teaser, curated by Jan Zálešák, BKC, Brno
2008 Open Closed Open…, curated by Monika Sybolová, Ondřej Horák, Gas Station near Slaný
2006 Cabbage, curated by Michal Pěchouček, Jelení Gallery, Prague
realizations
2024 Sluneční hodiny, collaboration with Dušan Zahoranský, City Tower, Prague – Pankrac
2020–22 War Veterans Memorial in Ostrava, collaboration with Ondřej Buddeus, Czechoslovak Aviators Park in Ostrava
2020 children’s playground, collaboration with Dušan Zahoranský and Rom Kostřica, architectural design by Miriam Lišková and Michal Sullo, Kamence, Kysucké Nové Mesto
2018 Passenger Constellation, Prague – Pankrac
2014–17 children’s playground, collaboration with Dušan Zahoranský, architectural design by Martin Rusina and Martin Frei, Banks of Loučná River, Litomyšl
Group exhibitions
2025
Rulers of the World, with Daniel Vlček, curated by Jří Ptáček, Pekelné sáně Gallery, Kroměříž
L’identité, curated by Pavlína Morganová, The Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague
No time to work, no time free of work, SJCH curatorial team, Laichter House, Prague
2024
Emergency. Preparing for the Future, House of the Lords of Kunštát. Brno
In the backyard... Blackbird, curated by Vladimír Beskid Jan Koniarek Gallery, Trnava
UNPETRIFIED, curated by Lucia Gregorová Stach, Tomáš Umrian, Contemporary art gallery, Bratislava
Album of slow motion images, GHMP Troja Castle, Prague
CITY CODE, curated by Vladimír Beskid, Galerie Olivier Waltman, Paris
OPORA: Chairs in post-conceptual art, Tabačka Kulturfabrik, Košice, SK
Planet ID: memories of the Earth, curated by Petra Mazáčová, Gallery of Modern Art in Roudnice nad Labem
Orbita, curated by Sandra Émonet, La Box - ENSA Bourges
No time to work, no time free of work, SJCH curatorial team, Mala Stanica - National Gallery of R.N. Macedonia, Skopje
Vienna Contemporary Art Fair 2024, Messe Wien
2023
Plan B, curated by Lenka Lindaurová, Martina Zuzaňáková, Litomyšl Plein-Air
Foreign Bodies, Galerie Pekelné sáně, Kroměříž
Rider, exhibition of the private collection of Josef Maixner, Magnus Art, J&T Bank Gallery, Prague
First Choice Night, Art Index Pop-up, Invalidovna, Praha
OUT from the gallery! Art in Czech Public Space after 1989, Jaroslav Fragner Gallery, Prague
Art is already boring - Intermedia School of Milan Knížák, HYB4 Gallery of Campus Hybernská, Prague
2022
A Meeting in Stromovka, curated by H.Šauerová, P.Krátký, J.Machalický, White Unicorn Gallery in Klatovy
Triennial Prostor Zlín 2022, curated by Martin Fišr, Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín
To be someone else, somewhere else, sometime else, curated by Gabriela Kotíková and Denisa Václavová, site specific exhibition of contemporary art for the former sports center Erpet Smíchov
Five Uncertain Situations, curated by Jitka Hlaváčková and Ian Mikyska, Prague City Gallery, Stone Bell House
Prologue. 12 Colours of Reality, curated by Lucia Gregorová Stach, Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava
2021
One Monument in Time, curated by Zweintopf, Forum Stadtpark, Graz
Concepts of Reflection, curated by Magdalena Deverová, Gallery of Modern Art in Roudnice nad Labem
Action Everything 1996–2021, curated by Nikolas Bernáth, Bratislava City Gallery, Pálffy Palace
2019
SIGNAL. The story of (post)conceptual art in Slovakia, curated by Vladimír Beskid, Ludwig Museum, Budapest
Cosmos, curated by Jiří Machalický, White Unicorn Gallery in Klatovy
2018
Bakelit. Contemporary Slovak Art, curated by Vladimír Beskid, Miskolc Gallery, Miskolc
Probe 1: The story of Slovak (post)conceptual art, curated by Vladimír Beskid, Prague City Gallery
OBJECTive, curated by Vladimír Beskid, Kunsthalle Bratislava
Hommage to Cloth: Textile in the Context of Art, curated by Emma Hanzlíková and Markéta Vinglerová, Zone 8smička, Humpolec
Who is the victor?, curated by Yvona Ferencová, Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava
Hidden Beauty, curated by Marina Dacci and Krištof Kintera, z2o Sara Zanin Gallery, Rome
2017
Medium: Figure, curated by Sandra Baborovská, Colloredo-Mansfeld Palace, Prague City Gallery
New Acquisitions from the Collections of Prague City Gallery, Municipal Library, Prague City Gallery
2016
Apparatus for a Utopian Image, curated by Sceranková Zahoranský, EFA Project Space, New York
2015
Jindřich Chalupecký Award – Final 2015, Moravian Gallery in Brno
Model, curated by Ladislav Kesner, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague
Beyond the Obvious, curated by Zita Sárvári, Deák Erika Galéria, Inda Gallery, Viltin Gallery, Budapest
Distant Observers, curated by Nina Michlovská, Gallery of Modern Art in Roudnice nad Labem
The Soft Codes, curated by Vladimír Beskid, Wroclaw Contemporary Museum
4+4 Days in Motion, curated by Krištof Kintera and Denisa Václavová, Prague
Reconstructions, curated by Vladimíra Büngerová, Petra Hanáková, Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava
The Tectonics of Memory, curated by Lucie Machová, Brno House of Arts
Art Has No Alternative, curated by Hajnalka Somogyi, Tranzit, Bratislava
Three Bridges, Zen Plzeň: City as Exhibit, Pilsen – European Capital of Culture 2015
2014
Europe, Europe, curated by Gunnar B. Kvaran, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Thomas Boutoux, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo
9th International Biennial of Photography and Visual Arts, curated by K.Kottová, A.Vajd, Hynek Alt, Liège
4+4 Days in Motion, curated by Krištof Kintera and Denisa Václavová, U Stýblů Palace, Prague
7th New Zlín Salon, Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín
The Circular Ruins, curated by Jean-Marc Avrilla, MeetFactory Gallery and Institut Français in Prague
Darker than Black, curated by Katarína Slaninová, SODA Gallery, Bratislava
Republic of Figures, curated by Tereza Stejskalová, Tranzitdisplay
Not Me: Subject to Change, curated by Claire Breukel, Art Basel, Miami Beach
2013
The Beginning of the Century, curated by Pavlína Morganová, Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava
Things and People, curated by Michał Jachuła, Arsenal Gallery, Białystok
For Many Different Ears, curated by Denisa Kujelová and Martin Nytra, Fait Gallery, Brno
Jamais vu, curated by Maria Niemyjska, Wozownia Art Gallery, Toruń
Exhibition of new Artist – London, curated by Palo Fabuš, Divus, London
Exhibition of new Artist – Prague, curated by Palo Fabuš, Divus Prager Kabarett, Prague
TRIKO – Triennial of Contemporary Art Košice 2013, curated by Vladimír Beskid, Kunsthalle Košice
Lapidarium, curated by Edith Jeřábková and Dominik Lang, Jaroslav Fragner Gallery, Prague
Grey Zone, curated by Zita Sárvári, Krokus Gallery, Bratislava
Systems and Accidents, curated by Lýdia Pribišová, Bad Contemporary, Pietrasanta
Words among Shapes / Shapes among Names, curated by Denisa Kujelová and Martin Nytra, Fait Gallery, Brno
2012
Maloval hlavolam, curated by Tereza Severová, NoD Gallery, Prague
Systems and Accidents, curated by Lýdia Pribišová, Ex Elettrofonica, Rome
The stars look different today, curated by Zita Sárvári, Dovin Gallery, Budapest
Would you like to play another game?, curated by Denisa Václavová, Krištof Kintera, 4+4 Days in Motion, 17th International Festival of Contemporary Art, former Casino, Pařížská street, Prague
White Night, curated by Zuzana Pacáková, Košice – European Capital of Culture 2013
On the Contrary, curated by Karina Kottová, MeetFactory Gallery, Prague
The Beginning of the Century, curated by Pavlína Morganová, Masné krámy, Gallery of West Bohemia in Pilsen
The Islands of Resistance. Between the First and Second Modernity 1985–2012, curated by Jana and Jiří Ševčík, Edith Jeřábková, National Gallery Prague
Useless, curated by Ivan Mečl, General Public, Berlin
Pavla Sceranková and Juraj Kollár, curated by Martin Fišr, Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín
Zones of Habitation, curated by Gabriela Kisová, Krokus Gallery, Bratislava
2011
Shorts Amorpha, British Film Institute, London
Cuckoo 2011, art festival, Ostrava
Raum: Selbst, curated by Friederike Hauffe, Brno House of Arts
Flashbulb Memory, curated by Borbála Szalai, Institut Hongrois de Paris
Prague Biennale 5, curated by Vjera Borozan and Mariana Serranová, Microna, Prague
Critical Space, curated by Áron Fenyvesi, Trafó Gallery, Budapest
Spare Room, Inda Gallery, Budapest
Home Edition, Central Slovak Gallery, Banská Bystrica, East Slovak Gallery, Košice
Interview, Nitra Gallery
2010
PAF Olomouc, Festival of Film Animation and Contemporary Art
Biennial of Young Art Bell 2010, curated by Tomáš Pospiszyl, Stone Bell House, Prague City Gallery
Oskár Čepan Award 2010, Medium Gallery, Bratislava
Collectors. The Czecho-Slovak Pavilion, curated by Lucie Drdová and Martin Mazanec, Brot Kunsthalle, Vienna
Planet Eden, Brno House of Arts
2009
The Situation, Third Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, curated by Elizabeth M. Grady, Moscow
5th Zlín Youth Salon, Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín
Object Animation. Third Sense. Animation Principles in Contemporary Art, House of Arts in Zlín
Donumenta, International Festival of Art and Culture in Regensburg
2008
Contemporary Czech Cubism, curated by Václav Magid and Vasil Artamonov, Old Town Hall, Prague City Gallery
Off Course, MeetFactory Gallery, Prague
2007
Jindřich Chalupecký Award – Final 2007, Entrance Gallery, Prague
Gross Domestic Product 2, M’ARS Center for Contemporary Arts, Moscow
Enhanced Model, Lame Effect, curated by Dominik Lang and Marek Meduna, NoD Gallery, Prague
Form follows… risk, curated by Jana and Jiří Ševčík, and Monika Mitášová, Futura and Karlin Studios, Prague
Scooter – Biennial of Young Art, curated by Vladimír Beskid, Ján Koniarek Gallery in Trnava
Punctum, curated by Václav Magid, Futura, Prague
Klasse Crag, UdK Berlin
monographs
Pavla Sceranková, Universe in the head, NAVU Praha, 2023
Pavla Sceranková, Off Format Brno, 2012
Pavla Sceranková, Mind without Image, Off Format Brno, 2012 |