International exhibition project The Somnambulists, curated by Nika Kupyrova and Michal Stolarik explores current tendencies in the field of expanded drawing that oscillate between clear intention and deliberate surrender of control. Through the work of contemporary Slovak, Czech and Austrian artists who intentionally chose to leave their artistic comfort zones in favour of more fluid and unpredictable methods, the exhibition searches for new approaches on the border between reality and fiction. Emerging from traditional drawing techniques, but expanding to incorporate objects, spatial installations, soft sculptures or writing, the artworks in the exhibition adopt surrealist methods and accept automatism, intuition, spontaneous recording of gesture and the outcome of chance as legitimate artistic strategies. The project deliberately moves away from rationality towards exploration of personal mythology and elements of fiction in the context of contemporary drawing.
