Metaphysics and Despair

Exhibition Kids Painting Route P6, P7
Duration:May. 15, 2025 - Oct. 5, 2025
Artists:Viktor Pivovarov
Curator:Máša Pivovarová
Text by:Centrum současného umění DOX
Address:DOX Center for Contemporary Art, Poupětova 1, Prague 7, Prague, 170 00

The exhibition presents the recent works of Viktor Pivovarov, complemented by an album he created in 2005. The exhibition is introduced by the album To the Philosopher, Letter No. 3, for which Pivovarov took a booklet created by Daniil Kharms in 1937 and reworked it into the specific art form of an album. A large number of the exhibited paintings are from the series Poets and Muses, which corresponds to a period when Pivovarov was actually surrounded by muses and wrote a set of poems. This somewhat autobiographical cycle presents various forms and paths of inspiration and depicts all the possible hardships and joys associated with the creation of a work of art, be it literary or visual. With insight and specific humor, it shows how complex the birth of these uplifting metaphysical works is and what kind of mental and physical anguish it involves.

27. 9. 2025, 14:00 Family creative workshop: Broken Ladder

A family art workshop connected to Viktor Pivovarov’s exhibition Metaphysics and Despair
Viktor Pivovarov was born in Moscow in 1937. That same year artist Daniil Kharms published a booklet full of absurdist humor, which inspired this exhibition in many ways. Viktor Pivovarov’s works comment on the sorrows and joys of life and creation, and while some images remain mysterious symbols, others depict a joke or a game—and often both. Whether or not you are familiar with Daniil Kharms’s texts, you will learn a lot about Viktor Pivovarov in his exhibition. And you’ll also discover why this workshop is named after a ladder and why it’s a good idea to paint our world. Together. Because how often do we think together about what’s really important in life? And can we agree on it?
Practical information:
– The workshop lasts roughly 2.5 hours
– It is intended for children aged 5 and up and their adults

Centrum současného umění DOX