Texts

Formally Zelenka succeeds extraordinarily by merging realism with abstract non-descriptive pictorial space in a convincing and intriguing combination.

These are works about what happens when we treat each other inhumanely.

The extreme versatility of these mixed media drawings is a wonder to see.

The desire to observe what no one sees, and to leave the door open to hope.

Original: “El deseo de observar lo que nadie ve y dejar abierta la puerta a la esperanza.”

War, death and weeping have a color: red, the color of survival, because even in that chaos of pain there is life.

Original: “La guerra, la muerte y el llanto tienen un color: el rojo, el de la supervivencia porque incluso en ese caos de dolor existe vida.”

Some of the most intriguing departures in art have been motivated by fantasy, and this certainly is the realm in which to place the Zelenka paintings.

Zelenka aspires to transform reality into fantasy, contrary to the prevalent tendency of transforming fantasy into reality.

A realist line marks his work. And yet a kind of imagery places it outside any reality, often shifting it toward the dreamlike, the subjective or the imaginary, and the conceptual.

Original: “Una línea realista marca su obra. Sin embargo, hay una suerte de imágenes que la ubica fuera de cualquier realidad, desplazándola muchas veces hacia lo onírico, lo subjetivo o lo imaginario y lo conceptual.”

Zelenka feels the need to uncover the hidden structure of the universe.

Original: “Zelenka siente la necesidad de descubrir la estructura oculta del universo.”

Every race migrates, and that is why there are so many suitcases. The suitcase is an icon: it is the object in which we lock away all our belongings and the stories of our lives.

Original: “Todas las razas migran y por eso hay tantas maletas… La maleta es un ícono; es como el objeto donde encerramos todas nuestras pertenencias y cuentos de nuestras vidas.”

I'm not trying to change anybody's mind. I just feel very uncomfortable with abusive power.