Michal Škapa (Tron), one of Czechia’s most renowned contemporary artists, will showcase his bold, urban-inspired works in “Burning Chrome”, his first ever exhibition in Asia.
One of the most prominent Czech artists associated with the graffiti and street art scene, Tron explores the concept of the writer as an active creator of urban codes and an observer of urban structures and architecture, uniquely attuned to perceiving and reflecting on the urban landscape with a distinct sensitivity.
In his evolving topography of the city’s ‘genetic code,’ Michal Škapa delves into cyberspace, drawing inspiration from the cyberpunk bible, William Gibson’s cult novel Neuromancer. This choice is fitting, as Gibson’s 1984 work predicted personal computers, the Internet, virtual reality, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and drones. Today, these technologies not only define how we operate but also influence how we model personal spaces and experience the present to such a degree that life without them now feels unimaginable. Another influential sci-fi novel inspired the cult film Blade Runner, whose creators used Hong Kong’s streets as a model for the urban environment.
In the digital and cyber worlds, certain entities are more virtual than physical, such as artificial intelligence or hacking programs. These represent ‘breaths of the past’ in contemporary reality—old technologies or memories of vanished urban layers, now replaced by a new technological environment.
The exhibition is intermedial, combining hanging paintings, neon tubes, canvas surfaces featuring the artist’s alphabet, and a large-format projection. A video loop, projected on a glass window, integrates the work into the surrounding architecture. As a dynamic light echo, it simultaneously re-enters the urban reality from which it originated.
