Good Boy from Slovakia

This documentary short by director Michael Bukovanský follows Andrej Dúbravský during the preparations for the Olomouc exhibition, while setting his work in the context of social and political events, including the anti-government protests in Slovakia. The painter's quiet life on a country estate, where he works surrounded by nature and animals, contrasts sharply with the aggressive homophobic statements of the Minister of Culture Martina Šimkovičová and other members of the current Slovak government, who accuse the LGBTQ+ community of undermining traditional values and label it as the culprit of the "extinction of Europe". Dúbravský himself, whose works have been exhibited not only in Slovakia and the Czech Republic but also in Berlin and New York, has been the target of government criticism by Šimkovičová, who called his painting of a couple of men kissing, displayed in the Slovak Radio building, "provocative and perverted art".

"In his work, Dúbravský simply deals with themes that are close to his heart – his primary intention is not to shock or provoke. The fact that some individuals perceive him as a provocative author is more a mirror of their own attitudes," said Erika Kovačičová, the curator of the Olomouc exhibition, who is accompanying the audience through the film. The documentary also searches for the sources of the painter's inspirations. At the Telegraph Gallery, he presented paintings based on Baroque and Rococo scenes, through which he reflected historical and contemporary ideals of beauty. "Many people are outraged by the depiction of large bodies, but I have always been fascinated by the monumentality of figures in the works of Titian or Rubens. That is why I have dedicated the exhibition in Olomouc to big men," explained Andrej Dúbravský. Another fundamental current in his work, which also appeared in the Olomouc exhibition, is the depiction of natural and animal motifs interconnected in the rural landscape where he spends most of the year.