Exhibition by Czech conceptual artist Jiří Kovanda opens today in London

Czech conceptual artist Jiří Kovanda opens The Grounds We Tread today at the Pump House Gallery in London.

The Grounds We Tread is comprised of a series of performative exhibitions by international artists exploring ideas of public space. The series examines and challenges notions of how public space is inhabited by social relations, ideas, language and communication, and technology.

The exhibition’s format, with consecutive presentations by artists Jiří Kovanda, Lloyd Corporation, Ilona Sagar and Cara Tolmie, feeds into this theme in its complication of the very idea of public space and the way it is used and governed.

Perhaps best known for his performances or “actions” in 1970s Prague, Jiří Kovanda uses his body to create disruptive public interventions and often to challenge social taboos. One of his most well known recent works, Kissing Through Glass (2007) at Tate Modern, saw visitors able to kiss the artist through a large glass window. Kovanda’s presentation within The Grounds We Tread includes a spontaneous performance, in addition to documentation of his 1970s actions, presented on the walls of the Gallery.

Jiří Kovanda’s presentation will continue until 28 April. The Grounds We Tread runs from today until 19 June at Battersea Park’s lakeside Pump House Gallery. More information can be found here.