JAN TICHY / MATRIX 164

April 5, 2012 – August 5, 2012

Download the MATRIX 164 Exhibition Brochure.

“The subject of the installation is the institution itself―the museum, its buildings, collections, staff, audience, and history, which is questioned through the story of Chick Austin.” —Jan Tichy

Jan Tichy’s MATRIX project was three-fold, including two installations relating to both the city of Hartford and the landscapes in the Wadsworth Atheneum’s signature Hudson River School collection, in addition to a new work that specifically addressed the museum’s storied history.

MATRIX 164 included Installation No. 6 (Tubes), 2008; Installation No. 11, 2010; and Installation No. 14 (Austin), 2012; the centerpiece being Installation No. 14 (Austin).

Diverse pursuits converge in Tichy’s mesmerizing installations. Typically presented in darkened spaces, sculptural and architectural elements are illuminated by moving projected light. Tichy constructs beautiful formal spaces that subtly reveal social and political themes.

Tichy grew up in Prague in the years leading up to the non-violent, anti-communist Velvet Revolution of 1989. Learning of his Jewish heritage in his late teens, the artist later moved to Jerusalem and studied political science, soon changing to photography and sculpture, amid the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tichy currently resides in Chicago.

Artist Residency
As part of the museum’s Community Engagement Initiative, Tichy worked with teens in The Amistad Center’s Teen Advisory Group (TAG) to produce a series of public light art installations that were installed in different locations in Hartford’s North End.