Starting on June 22, Villa Magdalena is thrilled to present Thomas Chapman & Miroslav Tichý: Leisure Surveillance the gallery’s fifth exhibition. This two-person show initiates a conversation between the painter, Thomas Chapman (San Diego, 1975), who lives and works in Berlin and the late photographer Miroslav Tichy (Kyjov, 1926-2011). Chapman’s Lake Paintings and Tichy’s photographs share the voyeuristic gaze of authors whose subjects unknowingly commune with their hosts; the vision of two individuals from the periphery, scrutinizing tendencies of everyday human activities that are seemingly innocuous and simultaneously spooky when recorded.

Artists are like detectives. Surveillance is comparable to the heightened state of awareness and close attention to detail that characterizes the making of art. The encounters in Tichy’s photographs and Chapman’s Lake Paintings  are a close examination of leisure, a critique of life that undermines any kind of pastoral slumber. The presence of these invisible authors accompany their unknown subjects in the fleeting moments they capture.

This exhibit would not be possible without the crucial support and active participation of Ivorypress as well as the collaborative efforts of the Tichy Ocean Foundation.