PETER BANKOV: in Kloster Zscheiplitz miracles happen every day

This month Kloster Zscheiplitz celebrates the artistic talent of outstanding graphic designer Peter Bankov.

Apart from being represented in major contemporary art museums in Europe and the US, Peter regularly works with leading cultural institutions, such as opera houses, museums and art galleries. His Prague school of poster design is a main source of inspiration for generations of young artists. Art critics regard Peter not only as a leading figure in contemporary art, but also as a remarkably successful communicator and mentor.

The cooperation between Peter Bankov and Klostergalerie Zscheiplitz goes back to 2015, when the ancient monastery hosted a two-days design workshop with participation of some Russian and Ukrainian artists. Peter's participation left a mark on the gallery, visible to this day: the sign "Zscheiplitz Art Centre" still decorates the entrance to the ground floor library.

Alexander von Hahn:.. So, in a way you never left Zscheiplitz Monastery?

Peter Bankov: No. And never wanted to -- it felt right from the moment I stepped in, to decorate these ancient walls with a sign of my own presence.

AvH: sure. It looked like it was lifted off an abandoned railway station, not a historical monument.

PB: an abandoned railway is very much like an abandoned monastery. The train of history long gone.

AvH: and what is what makes you feel home - being left behind on a empty platform?

PB: Artists are never in time. Perhaps, I am too late, or, maybe, too early? Maybe it is the monastery who is not in time and is late for the appointment with my art.

AvH: You've almost missed each other - it was about to collapse when we bought it and decided to try to save its old walls and roofs for artists like you.

PB: Old walls are what make the heart beat faster, from the happiness of becoming a piece of history.

AvH: Your compositions are made of broken lines, refracted contours, desperate gestures, contrasting color spots: what is this - an attempt to combine the incompatible in the space of a work of art, or the artist's response to social turbulence?

PB: I did not think about my art in this way. When I paint I reflect upon what is happening at the moment with my personal world. Every painting is special, reflects exactly what I can call 'my inner state of being'. All of it -- happiness and despair, joy and sorrow. I don't event try to analyse it, let alone find a suitable explanation for it, pleasing my admirers or annoying my critics.

AvH: You are known primarily as a graphic artist. Is turning to easel painting an unexpected joy, or a radical change?

PB: Painting is a beautiful world, the world of colours and canvas, my world. As I take a brush into my hand I commit myself to another state of being. All I can say is: don't be afraid or intimidated by art. Follow your heart as I followed mine in preparation for this exhibition. Kloster Zscheiplitz is a place where miracles happen every day -- just the right place for me.