The new exhibition at White & Weiss Gallery I Wanted to See a Star presents the work of Czech painter Daniel Balabán. Balabán entered the art scene in the mid-1980s and has been tirelessly testing the boundaries of his own painting expression ever since. A rich library of forms and motifs materializes into a unique programme, characterized by a dynamic treatment of the experienced and personal imaginings somewhere between surrealism, symbolism or absurdity extracted from lived reality.

Surprisingly, the exhibition I Wanted to See a Star is the first solo presentation of Daniel Balabán in Slovakia. The original intention was to present the most comprehensive selection from the author’s portfolio, but due to the visual and thematic diversity and the space limitations of the gallery, we have modified the intention.  We focused on creating a coherent exhibition experience that presents a selection of works from the last five years.

In the title of the exhibition one can sense the artist’s poeticism, but also a reference to something that goes beyond the profane side of our lives. The oil and acrylic paintings depict ambiguous situations floating between reality and fiction, emphasising ephemeral moments The oil and acrylic paintings depict ambiguous situations flitting between reality and fiction, emphasising ephemeral moments leaning towards romanticism, melancholy or existentialis. At the same time, the exhibition provides a functional summary of the main themes that Balabán has addressed throughout his long career.

Daniel Balabán (1957, Šumperk) lives and works in Ostrava. He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (1979-1984) under the guidance of František Jiroudek, and gradually earned his associate professorship (2004) and full professorship (2014). He is currently the head of the Department of Painting and the Painting 1 studio at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ostrava. He has had solo exhibitions in galleries such as the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava, Trafo Gallery, Prague, Václav Špála Gallery, Prague, Moravian Gallery, Brno, Gallery of the City of Blansko, Gallery Via Art, Prague, Regional Gallery of Vysočina in Jihlava, etc. He has been part of group exhibitions in institutions such as Důl Michal, Ostrava, DOX, Prague, Czech Centre, Berlin, Meetfactory, Prague, Moravská galerie, Brno, Národní galerie, Prague, Wannieck Gallery, Brno, SNG, Bratislava, etc. His works are represented in many private collections and state collections such as NG, Prague, GHMP, Prague, MG, Brno, GVUO, Ostrava, etc.

Curator: Michal Stolárik

White & Weiss Gallery programme in 2024 was supported from the public funds by the Slovak Art Council.