Adriana Czernin

Galerie Martin Janda is pleased to present Adriana Czernin's eighth solo exhibition American Flowers from 13th May to 4th July 2026.

From the very beginning, Adriana Czernin's work has moved between seduction and irritation. The first encounter with the artist in 2000-initially as part of a group exhibition shown in Antwerp and Vienna, and shortly thereafter in her first solo exhibition on the upper floor of the gallery-already revealed a central theme of her work: the exploration of form and structure, beauty and irritation, and the tensions between them.

In both Czernin's early video works and her drawings, a figure appears embedded in dense, visually overwhelming pictorial worlds-nature, ornamental structures, or plant-like formations. Yet the initial sense of beauty in these environments repeatedly begins to shift. Patterns grow denser, the plant-like elements become clasping; what initially seems alluring takes on an almost oppressive presence. A sense of feeling at the mercy pervades these early works, as does the experience of being absorbed by visual opulence.

The new works continue these developments. Floral elements return-not as motifs in the classical sense, but as rhythmic movements within the composition. Flowers appear multiplied, arranged in a serial pattern. At the same time, the works possess a new openness: the foreground and background do not merge, but assert themselves in relation to one another. Elements emerge, recede, and overlap without relinquishing their individuality.