Coolapse

In the exhibition Coolapse, Jakub Berdych Karpelis rewrites the iconic Einstein equation into a cultural formula of the present, where E stands for euro, M for McDonald’s, C for copyright, and the exponent is replaced by two hotel stars. What once symbolised scientific progress becomes an equation of today’s civilisation, driven by economy and consumerism. The work is based on a Roman inscription carved into the castle rock in Trenčín in 179 AD, which the artist had already guerrilla-reinterpreted in 2008 in Hořice, at the Saint Joseph Quarry. In this new series, created from found architectural fragments, he gives the work an additional context connected to the current geopolitical situation, allowing it to be read as a post-apocalyptic monument and a message to future generations.

The artist has long worked with principles of reinterpretation, reconstruction, recontextualisation and remix, both on the level of material and symbolism. He is aware that, as an artist, he does not exist in a vacuum. His works function as deliberate probes into history and the present, into layers of meaning that remain alive precisely through new approaches to reading them.

Alongside the marble “monuments”, the exhibition also presents, for the first time in the Czech Republic, the artist’s more playful approach in the series Awkwards (2024–2025). These grotesque, almost ironic objects reflect human imperfection and absurdity with a sense of humour, and thanks to their mirrored surfaces, visitors may quite literally find themselves within them. The 2025 series was created during the Glass Circus event at the Novotný Glassworks.

Another part of the exhibition consists of the glass sculptures titled Narcis, one of the artist’s signature works. This iconic head, repeatedly reimagined in various material and visual variations, becomes a symbol of contemporary obsession with self-image and the selfie phenomenon. Some of the sculptures draw from the aesthetics of car tuning, with its exaggerated colours, gloss and visually seductive surfaces. Other variations are conceived typographically, while some are executed in an entirely free manner.

At the exhibition, Jakub Berdych Karpelis presents a selection of works created in the past two years, which, with his characteristic sense of irony, further develop his long-standing themes. His work demonstrates a strong interest in material and craftsmanship, as well as in symbolism and its shifting meanings over time. Through his personal artistic stance, he blurs the boundaries between the high and the low, the serious and the absurd, transforming everything into a personal visual collage.