Roman Štětina

Roman Štětina was born in Kadaň, Czech Republic, in 1986 and lives and works in Prague. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague from 2009 to 2015, in the studio of Tomáš Vaněk, and spent two years at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main, where he studied with Judith Hopf and Douglas Gordon. His practice encompasses film, video, installation, and sculpture, with a particular interest in the structures and processes through which broadcast media are produced. Štětina’s work examines the production of film, television, and radio, drawing attention to the technical, material, and performative elements that normally remain behind the images and sounds experienced by an audience. Rather than simply revealing these hidden mechanisms, he reconstructs and stages processes such as recording, editing, rehearsing, and broadcasting, often introducing disruptions or unexpected situations. His works consequently explore the relationship between image, sound, language, and the technologies through which they are transmitted. Another important aspect of his practice is his engagement with the conventions of genre cinema and existing audiovisual material. Through re-editing and precise editorial interventions, Štětina isolates, removes, or reorganises particular visual or acoustic elements, altering the original relationship between image and sound. These transformations create shifts in perception and open up alternative ways of reading familiar cinematic or broadcast forms. His approach frequently moves between different modes of presentation, bringing attention to the constructed nature of moving images and the conventions that shape their reception. Language and the spoken word have also played an important role in his moving-image works. In *Instructions for Use of Jiří Kolář* (2015), made in collaboration with radio-drama director Miroslav Buriánek, Štětina documented the recording process of a series of poems by Czech poet, artist, and translator Jiří Kolář. The film focuses on the rehearsal and recording process, including the precise adjustments of intonation, intensity, pauses, and silence through which written language is transformed into spoken performance. Štětina has exhibited internationally, including at the National Gallery Prague, Spike Island in Bristol, MNAC in Bucharest, NEST in The Hague, Trafó Gallery in Budapest, Tenderpixel in London, and James Cohan in New York. He participated in Manifesta 11 in Zurich in 2016 and has presented his films and videos at institutions and festivals including the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, LUX in London, Anthology Film Archives in New York, Delfina Foundation, PAF Olomouc, Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, goEast in Wiesbaden, and Modern Art Oxford. His work has received several distinctions, including the FilmPreis at the Städelschule Rundgang and the Dean’s Award for Best Diploma Work at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, both in 2015. He was a finalist for the Jindřich Chalupecký Award in 2014, one of the most significant Czech awards for artists under the age of thirty-five. Štětina’s works are held in collections including the National Gallery Prague, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Prague City Gallery, the Deutsche Telekom Art Collection, the European Central Bank Art Collection, the Vehbi Koç Foundation, and the Museum of Modern Art in Olomouc. Through film, video, installation, and sculpture, his practice continues to investigate how images and sounds are constructed, transmitted, edited, and experienced, revealing the systems and conventions that shape contemporary audiovisual culture.