Kanrec Sakul, Velura Rando at VUNU, Bratislava.

Velura Rando by Kanrec Sakul, curated by Niki Bernath, at VUNU, Bratislava, 07.11.2024 – 07.12.2024.

Exhibition text:
Kanrec Sakul uses corruptions of Esperanto for the titles of his works or projects as a contextual device that brings another layer of subtle mystification and confusion to his intricate work. Velura rando—Velvet Edge—is Sakul’s first solo exhibition in Bratislava. The series of recent paintings and objects follows the other large-scale exhibition project senfina flugo (endless flight), which took place in Kasárne in Košice in the summer of 2024.

After a long time, a rediscovered movement in his work found its way into the monumental canvases presented at the exhibition, and the “nature morte” thus became a “tableau vivant”. However, when we speak of a “living picture,” life itself, as in the case of Kanrec, is decidedly different from what happens to us here and now. It takes place on and in unreal worlds or universes that spring exclusively from his imagination and become real precisely on the given canvases (at least in the realm of the image).

In his latest paintings, Sakul explores his well-established concept of “false spaces,” which appear deceptive but on closer examination reveal strange truths within their illusory depths. These environments are often decorated with bold textures and colors that suggest a sophisticated representation of something high. Beneath this velvety sheen, however, are teeming with disturbing undercurrents and subversion. At first glance, Sakul’s spaces may evoke the feeling of a home filled with fresh, rich colors that suggest luxury or opulence. However, when we analyze the surface of the objects in the paintings themselves, cracks appear in their imaginary veneer.

Strange architectural distortions, uninhabited furniture, and lighting that defies logic create a different reality. These interiors exist on the border between the familiar and the bizarre, where walls and objects seem ready to dissolve at any moment, and where the boundaries between tangible reality and abstraction round and curve. Lately, the aforementioned interiors and their details also feature vaguely instinctual and animalistic scenes, precisely masked in the textures of the paintings themselves. These unknown amorphous creatures fly or float across the image like spectral visitors, unsettling but strangely peaceful presences.

However, we cannot speak directly of animals or insects, as the creatures in question have no clear characteristics. This principle embodies Sakul’s fascination with the blurred vision of identities. These scenes add a layer of unease to the paintings, suggesting that such “other” life exists parallel to our human lives, but remains visible only through the lens of his paintings.

In Velura rando, beauty and bizarreness coexist, drawing us into the exploration of worlds and lives that defy categorization. Like Kanrec Sakul himself.