Unjustified impoverishment is a long-forgotten concept in Swiss and German civil law. It protects a person from a loss that does not benefit anyone else, and in extreme cases, also from impoverishment to which the person has become accustomed. Czech law, however, is dominated by the concept of unjust enrichment, and this progressive foreign doctrine thus remains, unfortunately, unknown in the Czech Republic. Probably also because it does not exist. But could it?

The exhibition by Kryštof Netolický works with a similar shift in perception of what we take for granted. His paintings grow out of observations of everyday situations and easily overlooked oddities, which need only be captured and slightly shifted to cease appearing normal. Netolický paints directly with his fingers using acrylics and treats even the notion of painterly virtuosity with ironic lightness.

Unjustified impoverishment thus draws attention to how the taken-for-granted comes into being in the first place. Over time, social conventions, rules, and daily routines obscure their own randomness and begin to seem as if they have always been here and are absolutely necessary. However, all it takes is a momentary disruption of their smooth flow for the world to reveal its strangeness, absurdity, and playfulness.

Curator: Dennis Wassouf