Martin Pondělíček

Martin Pondělíček is an intermedia artist who works inside an intersection of art, design and craft. His interest is a result of studies of Art education at the Faculty of education of Charles University, studio of intermedia at the Academy of Fine arts in Prague and crucial year–long study visit in the Textile studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. 

Within his main theme – time – he focuses on the incertitude of (self)identification, impossibility or limitation of perception and romantic anxiety. He connects these subjects with thoroughly chosen mediums which are then divided into multiple meanings depending on visual literacy. His artworks can be characterized by long term multiplication of small detail into complex whole, which emerges as a combination of haptic, olfactive  or visual form. His artworks are a collection of drawings, textile and metal objects, installations, garments, texts and videos, that were exhibited mainly in the Czech republic.

Needlework – practical analysis of contemporary czech embroidery and associated technics

Thanks to above mentioned experiences Martin Pondělíček looks at embroidery from various points of view. What is embroidery? How to work with it? How to make it and for what purpose? How to teach it? How to learn it? How to perceive it? What kind of contribution is it to us? What does an embroidery made by conjunction of scattered islands of handcraft, digital technologies, design and fine art look like?

With the help of analysis of Czech embroidery practice from archives, contemporary artworks to workshops with machines we will find answers for those questions. The responses will aid to transfer practice into theory, which will influence educational characteristics of this textile discipline. And most of the creators will be presented in the same place at once.  

Practical goal of this project is to materially create functional forms on the basis of intersection mentioned in the last question, to deflect from solely embellishment and focus on purpose, content and function, to connect advantages and disadvantages of machines and handmade embroidery and to obtain local materials from fibres and glass beads to fish scales. A collection of potentials and tendencies of embroidery practice will be created, for embroideries are visual and haptic and these qualities cannot be separated.