Drawing in Space
Tinkering is included in UNESCO’s World List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The exhibition presents the works of creators who are united by the search for artistic positions of wire. Objects, sculptures, utilitarian objects and jewelry are a cross-section of three decades of their work.
The exhibition is the vanguard of the Year of Tinkering, which will be 2026 at ÚĽUV. By pointing out the creative possibilities of this material, ÚĽUV aims to inspire new creations over the next two years.
Slovaks especially became famous for the tinkering craft in the world. The search for the beginnings of his artistic potential will lead us to tinker masters, for example Jozef Holánik-Bakeľ from Dlhé Póľ (he won the Grand Prix at the World Exhibition in Rome in 1911).
The political and economic development after the First World War brought about the gradual decline of the tinkering craft. It was not until the second half of the 1960s that the Educational Institute in Bratislava offered amateur artists the opportunity to attend long-term professional courses.
In the early 1970s, artist Janka Menkynová created a tinware production program at ÚĽUV. Anton Oboňa made the first prototypes of utility tableware and interior accessories from iron and blackened wire, Vendelín Kapusník continued their production from 1975.
Place: Design studio ÚĽUV, Dobrovičova 13, Bratislava
Opening hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 12.00 – 18.00 h, Thursday 12.00 – 19.00 h
Curator: Ladislav Jurovatý
In 1990 Š. Mlich with the idea of organizing a meeting of tinsmith masters. His idea is covered by the director of the Považ Museum in Žilina. Subsequently, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the museum, a conference is held on the topic of tinsmithing as a craft, art and business activity.
In 1994, at the University of Fine Arts in Bratislava, the cooperation of the students of the Industrial Design Studio was realized, and in 1996, the cooperation of the textile design department.
In this stimulating atmosphere for the development of tinsmithing, in 1995, the first year of the Wire Transformation Triennial took place in the Považ Museum. Over the years, this creative symposium connected with exhibitions has formed an active community of tinkerers and artists, many of whom also meet at the current exhibition Drawing in Space. Other exhibitors are graduates of tinsmithing courses organized by the ÚĽUV School of Crafts from 2000 to the present day.
