Martin Kohout

Martin Kohout

"In his multimedia work, Martin Kohout reacts primarily to various life situations, the incomprehensibility of the contemporary world and the inability of individuals to navigate in it. The jury has appreciated the wit with which the artist recodes the fears arising from the increasingly complex interconnection of our lives and new technologies." (jury statement)

Martin Kohout (*1984) graduated from the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU, Department of Cinematography) and from the Städelschule in Frankfurt (Simon Starling Studio). He also spent two years studying at the Universität der Künste in Berlin and went on a study stay at the Academy of Media Arts (KHM) in Cologne, Germany. His multimedia work reacts to various life situations, the incomprehensibility of the contemporary world and the inability of individuals to navigate in it. Kohout’s major theme is the medium of the internet and the self-reflection of man in global communication which brings conflicting experience – intimacy and aggression, self-confidence and helplessness. In the past years, he has introduced his work in the Czech as well as international context at solo and collective exhibitions, e.g. in New York, Beijing, Tokyo, Berlin, Paris and Sofia. In 2010, he was one of the finalists of Germany’s Marler Videokunst-Preis. In 2008, he won the Other Visions Award at the Festival of Film Animation in Olomouc, Czech Republic, and was a finalist of Jindřich Chalupecký Award in 2014.

Videoprofile of Martin Kohout

Video: Jan Vidlička