Czech painter Lukáš Šmejkal will take part in a residency at Flux Factory in New York from September 1 to 21, 2026.
His practice explores the relationship between landscape, the human body, and technology. He transforms the geometric forms of energy infrastructure, such as power lines, utility poles, and conductors, into organic, biomorphic structures. In his paintings, mechanical precision merges with intuitive lines, anatomical forms, and fragmented figures, creating visual worlds in which the boundaries between the natural and artificial, the visible and concealed, and reality and imagination begin to dissolve.
Šmejkal graduated from the Studio of Fine Arts II at UMPRUM in Prague and also studied in the studios of Matt Mullican and Sam Lewitt. His work has been presented in solo exhibitions at NoD Gallery in Prague, Trafostanice in Tábor, and Galerie Kvalitář, as well as in group exhibitions in Prague, Berlin, Lisbon, and at the Czech Centre Vienna.
During the residency, he will focus on architecture that conceals electrical substations, transformers, and other technical facilities behind the façades of residential buildings or seemingly ordinary urban structures. For Šmejkal, New York is a city where industrial infrastructure often hides in plain sight, blending into its surroundings through architectural camouflage. The tension between an aesthetic surface and the technological systems concealed beneath it will provide the starting point for a new body of paintings.
The residency will include field research, the mapping of selected sites, and the collection of visual and material references. Šmejkal will present his findings in an artist talk and workshop examining the technological-organic hybrids that increasingly shape the contemporary urban landscape.
Organized in partnership with the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM).
