Hello, Marshall! (polymer plaster, acrylic, synthetic varnishes, ⌀ 50 cm, 1/60 pieces, 2025)
Surface detail: technical descriptions related to the colors and materials used
The cycle was created based on a commission from J&T Banka. The investment group ordered the series as a gift for its long-serving employees. Within the abstract mass of gestural painting, the Czech koruna is contextually embedded. The designer of the coin, introduced to the market in 1991, is Asamat Baltaev, a medallist and engraver from the Chuvash (Suvar) Republic.
The series is inspired by the work of Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan. In his book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, Marshall McLuhan introduced the well-known idea that "the medium is the message." By this, he meant to emphasize that the way a message is delivered — that is, the medium itself — has a greater impact on society than the actual content of the message. In other words, the form of the medium influences people's perception and behavior more than what the medium specifically communicates.
The cycle, based on the original matrix, comprises a total of 60 color originals. The color scale was assembled mechanically using a digital locking grid based on the "temperature" of individual colors, while the human eye always perceives color shades subjectively. The applied principle deliberately challenges the traditional relationship between original and copy and abandons the conventional numbering of multiplied artworks (prints, photographs, sculptural casts, etc.).
The so-called McLuhan Tetrad of Media Effects was introduced in 1977, posthumously, in the book Laws of Media: The New Science, which was completed by McLuhan’s son, Eric McLuhan.
An extended study by photographer Zdeněk Porcal presents all sixty images on the surface of a single format.
1. What does the medium enhance? 2. What does the medium make obsolete? 3. What does the medium retrieve that was previously obsolete? 4. What does the medium reverse into when pushed to the extreme?
View of the cycle installation at the Nová síň Gallery (Prague, 2025)
The basic theme of the series revolves around the concept of optical illusion, originality, and replication. It begins with a painted matrix that captures various spectrums of abstract art, from which a sculptural form is subsequently created—enabling the potential for reproduction through casting. The cycle is conceived similarly to a graphic print, but in the artist’s interpretation, it is expressed through a sculptural gesture. Without knowing its material nature, the piece can convincingly appear as a painting on canvas, creating a faithful illusion.The volume of Palindrome always remains constant, but the individual castings vary depending on the casting technique and the surface coloration of each of the sixty total pieces. The title of the collection references the work of renowned Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan, a pioneer of postmodern thought on new media, their impact, and his thesis that the medium itself transforms both communication and thought. Hello, Marshall!
Read more about the project here…