PAVEL PECHA
Born : August 1 1962 in Kremnica (Slovakia)
Studies : 1977 - 1981 Metallurgic High School, Banská Štiavnica (Slovakia)
1984 - 1987 The Institute of Artistic Photography, Prague (Czech Republic)
1989 - 1994 FAMU - Department of Photography, Prague (Czech Republic)
 
I live in two worlds. One is real and the second one is an alternative created from the negative of bad qualities of the real world. The second one is of higher value for me.
It is my mirror or my picture. It is changing by the incessant self - control, it is developing.
I am closing myself into this world little by little, maybe voluntarily, maybe as necessity, because this world is better and more perfect than the real one. It is nor pragmatic, logical, nor intolerancy or superficial. There is nothing to explain, it is filled by fantasy, absurd situations and play. Sometimes it is determined by the real world, then also violence and evil can appear in it. I use it as a mirror of the real world. I discover my world slowly, it is impossible to discover it at once.
And when I find something, soon it is changed. It is an exciting adventure. It is a touch of transcendent. I discover strange situations, surreal pictures, unexpected relationships. Sometimes it is just an idea, sudden gleam, other time just a feeling. Sometimes it is built up as a mosaic into the inexplicable picture, that can be percieved only by subconscience. Sometimes I mediate something from it, but the most beautiful picture I have in my head. This world has been developing continuosly, something from it remains forever, something changes all the time. It shows me the way. My existency becomes a motions between my world and the real world. It is the motion between sky and earth. More and more often I find myself just in my own world feeling intuitively that I do not belong into the real world anymore. I do not know whether I shall ever return...

Pavel Pecha intensively creates an illusion of the infinite, august space, rituals, rites evoking associations with remote historical times, the mythical period of mankind. However, into the world of collective memory Pecha deposits instants of individual horror, dismay, instants when we find our-selves buried to the waist in the ground, or are persecuted by unknown beings. Pecha's theatre opens the door to the subconscious, sends on to the stage some deeply expenenced anxiety. And all the time he constantly poses the question about the existence or nonexistence of a collective, tragic or optimistic myth.
Pecha's radical subjectivity does not follow the road toward ignorance of history, does not speak of death, but of what has still remained of them for us, how much support we may seek in them, whether we can merge with them or not. The great majority of authors or staged photography realized their figural compositions in studios, or in interiors. Miro Švolík and Pavel Pecha included also outdoors. And Pavel Pecha was the only one to alter the landscape with a low horizon and illusion into a stage overcrowded with visions and dreams anxiously experienced by modern man.
 
(Vaclav Macek in "Slovak Photography 1925-2000" SNG Bratislava 2001)

Pavel Pecha by means of his Intuitive Theatre formed from the scenes constructed "en plain air" and made by himself offers the photographes with the motion-picture flavour. It is almost like preventive documentation about how the scene should be shot, it is the study of photographs through the acts, through the fixed pictures of one theatre: intuitive theatre, which frame is going to be developed, but it also includes the first steps of several hypotesis of descriptive development. All this operation mode is similar to the works of English director Peter Greenway, who arising from painting studies often design scenes with drawings and photographs, effect is immobility (motionlessness) and alienation which is close to a dream. Such effect is caused by spaciousness of the working field which is situated under the open sky and also by the composition which is not constructed in the first plan in American style, but it reaches the depth. Introduction of the groups of people - some of them dressed, some of them naked - on the stage also their disposition to the symbolic poses creates afflictive and melancholic atmosphere which is very close to Italian realistic cinematography. I would dare to say that at the first sight he reminded me Fellini's film "La Strada". But these acts constructed like this, refer to the tradition of wandering circuses and Gypsy life under the open sky with the strong blast of freedom. The author invites us to fill his by own intuitive theatre in the complementing osmose, where you can insert fragrance or personalities or ask for completing the scenes, or might appear in them.
Surreal matrix of these photographs informs us about the great "Slavic soul" which stands at the background of everything of it and which refers to a thin connection (photographs seems to be taken somewhere around Wienna) with Central Europe. Actual situation is supposed to be in the movement, and in great lines it hasn't been known to us, but with Pavel Pecha's presence we are starting to be familiar with it.
 
Boris Brollo (art critic) 1995

EXHIBITIONS:

COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION: 1989 - Exhibition of the pataphysic artistic group "Nine-speed cloudy bicycle" - House of Culture, TRNAVA
1990 - Exhibition of the pataphysic artistic group "Nine-speed cloudy bicycle" - Trnava Theatre, TRNAVA /SLOVAKIA/
1991 - Slovak staged photography - Museum of dance, STOCKHOLM / SWEDEN/
- Contemporary Slovak photography - Common Czech-slovak exposition, PRAGUE /CZECH REP./
- 20 years of The Institute of artistic photography - Silesia Museum, OPAVA /CZECH REP./
- Gallery S?F, PRAGUE /CZECH REP./
1992 - 20 years of The Institute of artistic photography - Gallery 4, CHEB /CZECH REP./
- Gallery ZPAF, KATOWICE /POLAND/
- Slovak staged photography - HELSINKY /FINLAND/
- Contemporary Slovak photography - KIEL /GERMANY/
- Slovak dozen - DORTMUND /GERMANY/
- International student photography "Blow Up" - Gallery Medium, BRATISLAVA /SLOVAKIA/
1993 - "Generation 60" - Tatra's Gallery, HORNY SMOKOVEC /SLOVAKIA/
- Between Image and Vision - Summerlee Heritage Trust, COATBRIDGE /SCOTLAND/
- Artexpo, Complex Expozitionae, BUCURESTI /ROMANIA/
- Bremische Burgerschaft, BREMEN /GERMANY/
- Botschaft der Slowakische Republik Aussenstelle, BERLIN /GERMANY/
- LJUBLJANA /SLOVENIA/
- Photographies of students of FAMU - PRAGUE /CZECH REP./
1994 - "Der molussische torso" - Fotogallery, WIEN /AUSTRIA/
- Exhibition of graduation works of students FAMU - BERLIN /GERMANY/
1995 - Communication - Tatra's Gallery, POPRAD /SLOVAKIA/
- Považská Gallery of Art, ŽILINA /SLOVAKIA/
1996 - Communication - Gallery of artists of Spiš, SPIŠSKÁ NOVÁ VES /SLOVAKIA/
- Museum of fine Arts of Warhol Family, MEDZILABORCE /SLOVAKIA/
- Institute of artistic photography 25/5 - Silesia Museum, OPAVA /CZECH REP./
- Theater of J. Myron and Theater of A. Dvo?ák, OSTRAVA /CZECH REP./
- Gallery 4, CHEB /CZECH REP./
- Center of culture "Castle" - Gallery of photography pf, POZNAN /POLAND/
- University of Silesia Katovice, department of Cieszyn, CIESZYN /POLAND/
- "Le Corps" - MULHOUSE /FRANCE/
- Slovak imagination photography - BANSKÁ ŠTIAVNICA /SLOVAKIA/
- Spirit in the Flesh - Stuart Levy Gallery, NEW YORK /USA/
- Czech/Slovak photography - HOUSATONIC / USA /
1997 - Institute of artistic photography 25/5 - PRAGUE /CZECH REP./
- Contemporary photography from Prague - My Intuitive Theater - Stuart Levy Gallery, NEW YORK / USA/
- The art of contemporary photography in Eastern Europe - Museo Ken Damy, BRESCIA / ITALY/
- "Personal rituals" - Galery "Sypka" /CZECH REP./
- Slovak imagination photography - TESSALONIKY /GREECE/
1998 - Slovak imagination photography - LJUBLJANA /SLOVENIA/
- Altered worlds - Fotofest, HOUSTON /USA/
- Intimacies - Branch of the School of Fine Arts, RETHYMNON /GREECE/
- Intimacies - ATHENS /GREECE/
1999 - "Altered worlds" - DENVER /USA/
2000 - Meeting 03 - Slovak graduates of FAMU - Foyer of Slovak Radio, BRATISLAVA /SLOVAKIA/
2001 - Slovak Photography 1925 - 2000 - Slovak national gallery, BRATISLAVA /SLOVAKIA/
2002 - Czech and Slovak Photography of the 80' & 90' - OLOMOUC /CZECH REP./
2003 - Staged fantasy - Gallery Sink, DENVER /USA/
2003 - Another Landscape - POPRAD /SLOVAKIA/
2005 - Dorota Sadovská, Martin Kollár, Pavel Pecha - TENERIFFE /GRAN CANARIA, ESPANA/
2006 - 4 for 4 - Galerija Turleja, KRAKOW / POLAND /
2007 - Mirror of Nature - Arsenal, WROCLAW / POLAND /
2008 - Czech and Slovak Staged Photography - Sol Melnick Gallery, PHILADELPHIA / USA /
2009 - Postmodern in slovak arts 1985-1992 - Slovak National Gallery, BRATISLAVA /SLOVAKIA/
2010 - Restless Medium - House of art, BRATISLAVA /SLOVAKIA/
 
INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITION:
1992 - My Intuitive Theatre - Artforum, BRATISLAVA /SLOVAKIA/
1993 - Photographies - Slovak-America bussines fund, BRATISLAVA /SLOVAKIA/
1994 - Photographies - Zvolen Castle, ZVOLEN /SLOVAKIA/
- Theatre photography - Puppet Theatre, BANSKÁ BYSTRICA /SLOVAKIA/
- " Dream fields " - West Slovakia museum, TRNAVA /SLOVAKIA/
1995 - " Dream fields " - Gallery Profil, BRATISLAVA /SLOVAKIA/
- My Intuitive Theatre - Fotogalerie, WIEN /AUSTRIA/
- " Dream fields " - Gallery Crossing, PORTOGRUARO / ITALY/
1996 - Photographies - Trnava Theatre, TRNAVA /SLOVAKIA/
2002 - Intuitive Theater - Great Manezh, MOSCOW /RUSSIA/
2002 - Intuitive Theater - Slovak Institute, WIEN /AUSTRIA/
2005 - Intuitive Theatre - Gallery 4, CHEB /Czech rep./
2005 - Intuitive Theater - Photofestival Union, LODZ /POLAND/
2005 - Intuitive Theater - Slovak Embassy, WASHINGTON /USA/
2005 - Intuitive Theater - BROLO CENTRO d' ARTE e CULTURA, MOGLIANO /ITALY/
2006 - FOFU Phot'art - PARCO CORSINI, FUCECHIO /ITALY/
2006 - Painting by Camera - And Gallery, TRNAVA /SLOVAKIA/
2007 - My Intuitive Theater - Mai fotofestival, QUIMPER, DUARNENEZ /FRANCE/
2007 - Two worlds - Jan Koniarek Gallery, TRNAVA /SLOVAKIA/
2008 - Staged Photographs - Fine Arts Center Galleries at University of Rhode Island / USA /
2008 - My Intuitive Theatre - Galerie Fiducia, OSTRAVA /Czech Rep./
2009 - My Intuitive Theatre - Galerie Bazilika, ?ESKÉ BUD?JOVICE /Czech Rep./
2009 - Photography - Slovak institute, MOSCOW /RUSSIA/
2010 - My Intuitive Theatre - Villa Onigo, TREVIGNANO /ITALY/
2010 - Photography - Auditorium Monteverdi, MARGHERA-VENEZIA /ITALY/
 
COLLECTIONS:
Museum of Fine Arts - Houston - USA
Museet for Fotokunst - Odense, Denmark
Jan Koniarek Gallery - Trnava, Slovakia
Private collections in Slovakia, Germany, Italy, Czech rep.,USA...