The sociopolitical tensions of recent years and decades have created fertile ground for a growing loss of faith in reason and a return to esoteric beliefs and mythological narratives. In a climate of uncertainty and distrust, imaginary worlds, pseudo-religions, and forms of folk superstition increasingly take the place of rational thinking. Similar tendencies can be found in contemporary art.

As attention shifts away from reality and toward fiction, esoteric beliefs offer a way of coping with the economic and social pressures of late capitalism. Fiction begins to take on the weight of reality, and the cards laid out on a table promise glimpses of the future. The hardships of everyday life are exchanged, if only briefly, for a sense that things are more bearable.

The exhibition takes its title Godly Tiller from the figure of the divine ploughman—an oxymoron in which a godlike being is also engaged in strenuous labour. Here, the idea of the divine is transformed into a form of individualism, a kind of contemporary paganism in which each person is expected to shape their own destiny. Questions of faith, the enchantment of folk customs and traditions, and the desire to test one’s luck run throughout the exhibition. Through their different artistic approaches, the three artists explore these themes from both local and broader perspectives.

Artists: Lucia Dubnická, Pawel Sobczak, Oskar Felber

Curator: Maroš Bavoľár