Foot touching the ground at regular intervals, footsteps, a breath of air from a passing figure, a fleeting touch, tension arising just before it, inhalation, exhalation, awareness of one's physical shell, noticing the physicality of someone else, sleep and detachment or, conversely, the flow into reality. The germ of a lived presence. And its changing nature.

How do our surroundings shape us and how do we in turn shape what surrounds us? With every step we take we leave an imprint, with every breath we absorb a part of the surrounding atmosphere and with every exhale we put a piece of ourselves into it. With each encounter, we and the character who meets us are transformed. We pass each other, we meet each other, we dance around each other. We are transformed by our own reflection in others, just as much as the one appearing when looking at the water surface. 

Kateřina Šťastná responds with her work to the space of Artium, in which people pass and meet, in which the place to move becomes a place to stop. Her works invite passers-by to lift their heads and experience a moment of reunion with the monumental sculptures under the pulsating light. A moment when, in the whirl of the dance, the dancers' bodies merge and lose their clear contours. Then, among the greenery, together with the inclination of their own gaze on the water surface, visitors discover the silence associated with the sleeping figure. The substance at the centre of Artia's heart, recording the reflection of the body in the water, is swayed by the influence of the surrounding environment, just as our inner self trembles with each encounter with the essence of our own existence. A little further on, the individual panels, by their size, not only create an expanded frame for the tiny embroideries, but also bring one into interaction with one's immediate surroundings and one's own physical presence.

And for some encounters one must stoop. To submit one's body to the possibility of capturing for a moment the interaction of two figures in relief. To adapt one's body to the possibility of encounters in new and unexpected contexts. Not just to pass through in a hurry, but to watch, perceive and experience patiently.  

The exhibition Intervals of Presence reveals responsibility in terms of the ability to stop, to be aware of the world around us and the other living figures in it, to understand the significance of our own imprint, reflection and the trace we leave behind. Both in chance encounter, passing by, patient recognition and understanding. Understanding ourselves, our own bodies, our relationship to the world, to the people in it, and to the intervals of presence that shape our lives.