{"id":17699,"date":"2025-06-04T16:03:44","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T14:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/janjaprokic.com\/vystava-janji-prokic-oci-zavrit-a-prece-uvidet\/"},"modified":"2025-07-02T12:38:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T10:38:52","slug":"vystava-janji-prokic-oci-zavrit-a-prece-uvidet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/janjaprokic.com\/en\/vystava-janji-prokic-oci-zavrit-a-prece-uvidet\/","title":{"rendered":"Exhibition by Janja Proki\u0107 “Close Your Eyes and Still See”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The title of the exhibition of your collection comes from a poem by Jan Sk\u00e1cel. Why is he so important to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sk\u00e1cel is, I would say, vitally important to me. I read a lot, my parents encouraged me to read from a young age. However, I never really liked poetry and didn\u2019t understand what people saw in it. Then, about 15 years ago, a friend gave me the poetry collection Smut\u00e9nka on Vy\u0161ehrad, which is my absolute favorite place. And I totally got stuck on it. What I like about him is how he, by choosing simple words, can touch your soul. He describes an everyday moment, an ordinary object, or even an emotion in such a way that you realize its strength. And even though I love ornate things and even kitsch, I\u2019m drawn to Sk\u00e1cel’s simplicity. In a way, it’s also a simple form of life. His poems make me slow down in the rush of life and notice the little things. I have a similar reaction to the poems of Pavla Melkov\u00e1.<\/p>\n

Where does your relationship with art come from?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been drawing since I was a child, I used to model little horses. I loved mystery and enigmas, for example, in the form of books by Arthur C. Clarke. When I was about ten, I went to a bookstore on P\u0159\u00edkopy to buy his book with a stunning cover featuring a crystal skull. And right next to it was a book about Salvador Dal\u00ed, which I absolutely loved. Dal\u00ed later disappointed me, but he introduced me to surrealism. I discovered artists like Jind\u0159ich \u0160t\u00fdrsk\u00fd, Leonora Carrington, Max Ernst, and others.<\/p>\n

Do you remember the moment when you started collecting?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m the type of person who goes for a walk and brings back four pine cones, a piece of moss, and a twig. I collect all sorts of things, like ducks and swans, the artistic ones, but also trinkets from Kolbenka for five crowns. The desire to collect things that speak to me has always been there. When I was little, I collected stickers and scented papers, which we traded with the other kids. In art school, I started exchanging things with my classmates, and I still barter today. The exchanged items form a large part of my collection. It\u2019s much more personal than buying something, which is just about “like, don\u2019t like,” “I can afford it, I can\u2019t afford it.” You also give a part of yourself back to the other person. We need to share the same values, and we need to be interested in each other\u2019s things.<\/p>\n

All the pieces are very personal to you; you need to surround yourself with them and live with them. However, you also have them exhibited in your showroom, which has become a gallery.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always wanted to have a gallery, and in a way, I\u2019ve fulfilled that wish. Now I\u2019m opening a new showroom, where I\u2019ll continue the previous one with exhibitions, but on a smaller scale. I can\u2019t help myself, I want to show people, clients who come to me, and inspire them that living in art is natural and enriches your life.<\/p>\n

Do you have anything hidden in a warehouse?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, I live in art, I don\u2019t need and don\u2019t want to hoard it, I\u2019m not interested in its investment potential, I need to look at it and enjoy it. Every day I start with a big cup of coffee, sit on the couch with it, warm it against my chest, and look at the art that covers every part of my wall. I often lay things on the floor so I can look at them.<\/p>\n

Could you define your collection?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never thought about it, but there are definitely only truly heartfelt things in it. When I follow an artist\u2019s work, it\u2019s not that I want something from them \u2013 anything. The piece has to touch me. I\u2019m drawn to work that comes from the deepest part of the soul. For example, Louise Bourgeois, Kiki Smith, or Tereza \u0160t\u011btinov\u00e1. It\u2019s very feminine, and she doesn\u2019t pretend it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

In my collection, I have a lot of small things. They seem more intimate to me, and I feel that creating something small is much harder than creating something big that dazzles. It has to have more strength to stand its ground and speak to the viewer. New works come to me when they speak to me. I also have a rule \u2013 when I sell one of my original pieces of jewelry, which happens a few times a year, I buy art.<\/p>\n

Showing my collection publicly is very personal to me, almost intimate. It\u2019s a look into my soul.<\/p>\n

You have many works by female artists. Is there a reason for that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that I consciously lean towards female art. The piece has to speak to me. However, when I go to a gallery and see good works by a woman, I feel immense pride that she made it. It\u2019s really not easy to succeed, especially in art. I\u2019m fascinated that even with a family and many responsibilities, the immense desire to create never fades. Maybe that\u2019s why female art speaks to me so much because I feel their deep need for things to be created. With men, there\u2019s often more reason behind it, but of course not always.<\/p>\n

You also work with symbols, and they appear in the pieces in your collection. For example, hair and eyes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I only realized that some symbols repeat when I was preparing for this exhibition. Often, they mean something personal to me, and I\u2019m probably subconsciously drawn to them. I perceive them subjectively and project myself into the image, creating a bond with it. Even though the same symbol might be interpreted completely differently by the artist. For example, braids and hair represent femininity to me, the care one takes of oneself as a woman.<\/p>\n

During my first visit to New York, I came across a tiny ancient statue in MoMA that had eyes, and I couldn\u2019t take my eyes off them. I felt like they were pulling me somewhere, and I didn\u2019t know where. I went to see them again twice, and with every visit to the city, I go again. Eyes have great power for me.<\/p>\n

How do you discover new artists?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I go to exhibitions and school critique sessions. I often follow artists for a long time because only over time does it show how big the inner drive is that pushes them to create. Surviving even after art school is not easy, and many people go in a different direction.<\/p>\n

In general, I don\u2019t let anyone advise me, and especially not about what I should collect. The exception is works by deceased artists, which I consult with Honza T\u0159e\u0161t\u00edk, with whom I have a close relationship. I trust his knowledge and that he will advise me well.<\/p>\n

You have roots in Serbia, but most of the artists in your collection are Czech. Does foreign art not attract you?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s interesting because I like to travel for art to Art Basel, the Venice Biennale, but I never think about buying anything. Recently, however, I was approached by a Polish artist whose work I\u2019d like, and I\u2019m also eyeing a Serbian artist.<\/p>\n

How do you perceive an artist and their work? Are they two separate worlds?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s the opposite. Art reflects a certain sensitivity, and that sensitivity comes from what\u2019s inside, it\u2019s a reflection of you and your personality. If I want to own a piece, I need the artist\u2019s personality to resonate with me. But when I go to see an exhibition, it\u2019s something different \u2013 there, I only judge the quality of the work.<\/p>\n

Is visual art an inspiration for your own work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In my work, I draw mainly from fine art. Since high school, an important inspiration for me has been the Pre-Raphaelites (a group of English artists from the mid-19th century, editor\u2019s note) and their Art Nouveau aesthetics, symbolism, and use of color. I approach jewelry as if it were a sculpture.<\/p>\n

If you could wish for any artwork, who would it be from?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Probably from Leonora Carrington, Louise Bourgeois, or a sculpture by Karel Malich. I love Malich.<\/p>\n