Fine Art

Conditions of admission

An applicant for a doctoral program at AFAD can become a student of the chosen study program only by succeeding in the admissions process. If the applicant has completed a master´s program i.e. second level study program, they can enrol in the admissions at AFAD following the required process and apply for one of the proposed dissertation topics.

An applicant for a doctoral program at AFAD is allowed to submit an application for a maximum of two study programs applying for one of the proposed dissertation topics (choosing either full-time or external form of study if offered) in the chosen study program. During the admissions process the applicant can apply for dissertation topics which will be posted by the AFAD Rector no later than two months prior to the date for the submission of applications for a doctoral program.

Additional information

Dissertation topic 1: Innovative practices and materials of contemporary exhibition design

Artistic research on a sustainable circular system for the designing of exhibition projects and exhibition components from the perspective of the practice of visual communication in space.

doc. Mgr. art. Marcel Benčík, ArtD.

Mgr. Norbert Lacko, PhD.

Doctoral artistic-scientific research in the field of sustainable circular system of exhibition design and exhibition components in accordance with the development and application of innovative materials in the field of exhibition design will focus on two levels of issues. The first is specific basic research and development of environmentally sustainable solutions using innovative eco-compatible practices and meterials. The second is the broader framing question of the nature of complex interdisciplinary approaches in exhibition design as a specific subset of visual communication in space. Doctoral artistic-scientific research thus also focuses on reflection on the medium itself.

Dissertation topic 2: City and Landscape. Overlaps

doc. Mgr. art. Vít Halada, ArtD.

doc. Ing. arch. Benjamín Brádňanský

The city as artificially created space outside of nature. The landscape as cultural space embedded in nature or created as nature.
The work is a research of city space and projects for the city that are understood as projects of social, cultural, habitat interactions. It can serve as a prerequisite for similar research of processes and spatial decisions in the environment outside the city leading to landscape as cultural project , i.e. a conscious and intentional inhabitation of the natural environment.
We are interested in projects on spaces as overlaps that exist or emerge between the city and the landscape. Interface spaces that already exist as spatial cultural typologies (garden, park, playground, etc.) or spaces that need to be provoked, found or generated and then tested as potential new artificial ecosystems, grown infrastructures, gradient environments or redundant constructions.
By research, we understand the movement between the scales and territories of landscape, city and architecture, searching for and mapping provocative overlaps that have the potential to become a current cultural spatial problem, captured textually and graphically. This becomes the starting point/hypothesis for the author's architectural project, which leads to spatial strategies/scenarios or decisions and forms through arguable design procedures.
During the doctoral studies, consistent individual work on artistic research is expected from the doctoral student, regularly presented and discussed at consultations and seminars. Pedagogical activity is also expected within the seminars at KAT (Projects for the City, Projects for the Landscape, ZVET) or when conducting one's own seminar. It is also assumed that the doctoral student will organize or tutor a theme related workshop or will cooperate on studio assignments with the aim of testing the doctoral project.

Dissertation topic 3: Architectural design methods

doc. Mgr. art. Vít Halada, ArtD.

doc. Ing. arch. Benjamín Brádňanský

We are interested in architecture that has a project.
A project that exists above the utilitarian fulfillment of the given task and that aspires for defining architecture as cultural discipline capable of answering outside or inside calls and phenomenon.
We do understand project as actualization of backgrounds, author programs or fascinations through ongoing searching and testing of methods of how architecture is conceived.
We propose for doctoral studies research several of our own architectural fascinations but we are also interested in applicants own motivations. We will look for ways of materialization and visualization of them in spatial relationship systems and forms. We try to compile an ATLAS of FASCINATIONS and a MANUAL of MESTHODS.
- Adequate, optimal, proper, satisfactory. Methods of the ordinary.
- Poetic design methods.
- Methods of architectural design in dialog with AI.
- City as space of conflicts. City as a project. Methods of conceiving blurred boundaries. Urban typologies.

Dissertation topic 4: Procedures and mechanisms of embodiment, disembodiment, re-embodiment in the photographic image

doc. Mgr. art. Jana Hojstričová, ArtD.

Mgr. Norbert Lacko, PhD.

This project will deal with artistic research concerning the depiction of disembodiment, reembodiment, re-embodiment or an embodied. These relate not only to the physical or mental body, but also to human ideas about nonhuman bodies: things, objects in diverse environments and their material and non-material nature. The project will test new ways of depicting embodiments emerging in dialogues of mind and body, in the tensions between corporeality and non-corporeality in the medium of photography in relation to vision and sight, its framing, etc. New experiences, practices and mechanisms of imaging will be tested.
The research should also derive from natural science disciplines such as biology, but also from medicine and social science and cultural fields such as social or cultural anthropology, etc., and develop a creative dialogue with them in the actual artistic research. The future PhD student should establish communication with a specific researcher or research department in the disciplines.
The applicant must demonstrate a longer-term continuity in his/her work in relation to the topic and, where appropriate, demonstrate its public presentation in solo exhibitions or curatorial projects, not only in the local context.

Dissertation topic 5: Memory as prototyping of reality

doc. Mgr. art. Sylvia Jokelová

MA Jozef Eduard Masarik

Memory, as the recording, storage and management of information, is constantly being updated, rewritten, supplemented or, on the contrary, reduced. We can talk about constant development, about the process of creative prototyping of reality and its variations. Remembering thus becomes a process of designing through which we perform our narratives and their transformations. The versions of the past created in this way further condition our perception of the future.
The subject of the research is deciphering the memory models (patterns) that we associate with objects and proposing their possible modifications through the understanding of design as "performative material" (Baudrillard 1968). Research approaches memory as a dynamic mechanism that affects how we "consume" these objects. The project can focus on questioning normative formulas in relation to design rooted in collective memory by opening up a common design practice – prototyping – by spilling over into other media.

Dissertation topic 6: Non-destructive research of artists' author's handwriting

(Visual specification of the author's manuscript with its implementation in the research database of the Department of Restoration - non-destructive research of the medium of painting and drawing)

prof. akad. mal. Boris Kvasnica

Development of a methodology for researching the painting manuscript of artworks from various periods of art history. Comparison of periods, schools, and different methods of constructing a painting throughout the stages of art development from the Renaissance to the 20th century. Acceptance of artistic and technological construction of works in different ways of implementing missing parts of the artwork. The research results and its specifications are to be implemented into a digital database of restoration documentation at the Department of Restoration at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design.

Dissertation topic 7: Reeserch into the possiibilities of artistic integration of a work of art.

Researching the metods and history of unifying a work of art trought retouching.

prof. akad. mal. Boris Kvasnica

Mgr. Norbert Lacko, PhD.

Techniques for the implementation of the final stage of the restoration implementation by retouching. The influence of artistic and technological construction of restored works on the method of retouching. Methodology and methods of aesthetic integration of works on different types of media - retouching. The use of innovative methods and technological procedures to minimize invasive interventions in the restored work with an emphasis on preserving its authentic quality. Implementation of research results in the educational process of the Department of Restoration and the possibility of participation in the creation of study materials for the Department of Restoration.

Dissertation topic 8: Experimental trace of drawing in a spatial situation. The process of interaction with other media, techniques and materials.

doc. Mgr. art. Pavol Macho

prof. PhDr. Marián Zervan, PhD.

Artistic research of the meaning and visuality of drawing through an intermedia approach in the structuring of planar and spatial image situations.
Drawing as a multi-layered medium of planar drawing practices and their extension to processes, where processuality, experimentation and performativity become an important moment of the spatial situation.
Drawing is seen as a dynamic process that can interact with other media, techniques and materials: drawing-action, drawing-sound, drawing-speech, drawing as a testing of materiality.

Dissertation topic 9: Author's strategies and procedures of architecture production

prof. Ing. arch. Monika Mitášová, PhD.

prof. PhDr. Marián Zervan, PhD.

The dissertation thesis and project will deal with the author's strategies and procedures for designing and subsequent bulding of architectural concepts, designs and projects. It will formulate, select, compare but also test and interpret the spheres of conceptual and design work as well as specific tools of architectural work.

Dissertation topic 10: FASHION FUTURE(S)

doc. Mgr. art. Barbora Peuch, ArtD.

doc. PhDr. Filip Suchomel, PhD.

Through speculative narrative methods, the research will focus on the possible future development of clothing from a utilitarian product, through designer objects, to alternative fashion of the future. It will include concepts of experimental clothing forms that critically reassess current customary approaches and conventional views on designer creation in the fashion industry. Through critical reflection, the topic intervenes, reevaluates, and subsequently exceeds current and outlines future directions in the development of clothing, subject to social, cultural, political, or economic aspects, as well as emerging topics such as fluidity, post-human aesthetics, beauty standards, or traditional notions of ownership and exclusivity, dematerialization, collaborative fashion platforms, etc., in the context of decolonization. At the same time, it will address new and unconventional technologies and methods of processing both textile and non-textile materials, as well as their processing and form.

Dissertation topic 11: Encoding Temporality in Architecture

Mgr. art. Danica Pišteková, ArtD.

Ing. arch. Tomáš Tholt, PhD.

Nowadays, architects are not only creators of buildings but also of materials and processes. By the practice-based research method, the project will explore architecture that is more flexible than static, soft instead of hard, haptic and changing. In this way, it re-thinks established hierarchies and binaries, opening itself up to diverse influences and uncertainties to encode them into its transformation. The dissertation will test different approaches through material speculations on a scale of 1:1 responding to the environment (e.g. analogue sensor, spatial filter, an indicator of changes in different scales). The work aims to develop such methods of testing and designing the cycle of architecture, where temporality and destruction are its inherent part, following the broader context of the history of materiality in architecture and its influence on spatial concepts, or research on material prototypes and their variability through computational tools and current production technologies.variability through computational tools and current production technologies.

Dissertation topic 12: Painting technologies in the context of current and emerging material possibilities

Mgr. art. Rastislav Sedlačík, ArtD.

The technological aspect in the process of preparation and realization of a painting is a constant challenge that changes based on the development of materials used in individual author's concepts. Artistic research, testing and interpretation of traditional painting technological procedures and their use at the present time is a prerequisite for further author's experimentation and creation, which is conditioned by one's own theoretical and practical experiences and knowledge.
Investigating the material nature of the painting image in the context of contemporary and emerging art is an ideal area of artistic research with direct use in practice.
The adept should show interest in the field in question in his work, as well as in his realizations
leading to possible interdisciplinary collaborations.

Dissertation topic 13: Transfer of wall paintings in Slovakia. A mapping of completed transfers, evaluation of their technical condition, and prospects for the use of this technique.

doc. Mgr. art. Gabriel Strassner

The aim of the doctoral thesis is to create an overview of wall painting transfers in Slovakia - the individual procedures, techniques, and materials used over the years, and to examine their impact on the artwork itself. The research will map individual works deposited in collection institutions and directly in situ on historical buildings. It will also address the methodology of re-restoration of works removed from their original support from a chemical, technological and aesthetical point of view. No less important will be a look at the ethical dilemma that arises with this technique, namely whether to carry out the transfer of the wall painting at all and what are its advantages and disadvatages. The research of previously completed transfers will provide a comprehensive overview of the development of the technique itself, contribute to the expansion of knowledge of the history of restoration in Slovakia, and, by learning from the past, help answer the question of suitability and proper execution of this restoration procedure.

Dissertation topic 14: The Medium of Drawing in the Expanded Field of Art

doc. Mgr. Emőke Vargová

Mgr. Beata Jablonská, PhD.

Drawing emerges in the field of contemporary art as a distinct medium, however, thanks to the selection of chosen artistic tools it expands into painting, collage of diverse materials, into the realm of drawing-object, or it can appear and interact with text, photography, and so forth.
The project will thus test work in this extended field, including the most fundamental expressions of drawing such as hand sketching or digital recording, discussing their assets and limitations. Various artistic approaches and the author´s creative process in which the author gradually selects, re-evaluates, and visualizes their own ideas will also be tested. Questions to be addressed include: Under what circumstances does one relinquish certain aspects of their own signature style in favor of the motif, and vice versa? What are the author´s approaches to the story behind the body of work per se and the de/materialization of drawing? How and why does the need to alter the initial record into the final result arise? How does creation evolve depending on the content, the story of the individual artwork? The work will also address art elements in classical or digital drawing: line, shape, space, color, and finally, the issue of how drawing has begun to engage in other areas of visual art.

Dissertation topic 15: The significance of material analyses for the methodology of mass loss compensation of mural layers in the context of restoration theory

(Binders of historical plasters - carriers of murals and surface treatment of masonry of historical architecture in our territory)

akad. mal. Ľuba Wehlend, ArtD.

Mgr. art. Zuzana Machatová, PhD.

The dissertation will focus on the research of plaster binders used in the past on the surfaces of interiors and exteriors of architecture in our territory (possibly also load-bearing mortars of masonry). The aim will be the extent of the use of airlime and naturally hydraulic lime, and possibly various hydrating admixtures and additives of plasters and mortars, and then processed in the form of a basic database and statistics. The knowledge will be obtained by laboratory analysis of samples taken from the whole territory of the Slovak Republic, so that samples from every historical period and significant site from the High Middle Ages to the Modern Period are represented in a reference way. The created database, which has not yet been processed in our territory, will demonstrate the basic trends and established technological practices in the technology of creating murals and architectural finishes in the Middle Ages and the Modern Period in our territory. The thesis will also include a basic comparison of the cuttings with similar researches from neighbouring countries published in the literature. The obtained knowledge will subsequently be used to determine specific technologies of restoration and conservation procedures.

Conditions for international students

All foreign applicants (with the exception of the Czech ones) must have a command of the Slovak language at the B1 level before starting their studies.

Foreign applicants, who have studied abroad, are admitted, only if they provide a decision on the recognition of the diploma issued abroad no later than the deadline for the enrolment (September 2024).

If the university issues diplomas after the enrolment date (after September) we do not recommend students that they submit an application, instead we recommend submitting it in the next academic year.

Check the following links for more information:

https://www.minedu.sk/23276-sk/akademicke-uznavanie-dokladov-o-vzdelani-a-stupna-vzdelania/

https://www.slovensko.sk/sk/vyhladavanie?mod=search&q=uznanie+dokladu+o+vzdelani

General information on the admission exam

The admissions process is to test an applicant´s individual skills and preconditions necessary for meeting independently and creatively requirements of the doctoral programs at AFAD. The admissions interview for a doctoral program is carried out before the admissions committee which is appointed by the AFAD Rector for each study program individually. The committee´s decision is influenced by the applicant´s range and quality of their artistic activity, publication activity as well as other activities related to the field of study (e.g. results in the artistic, scientific and scholar competitions)

The applicant may submit an application for both of following study programs:

• Fine Arts specialization: Fine Arts, Design, Architecture and Art Conservation and Restoration)
• History and Theory of Fine Arts and Architecture

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Step 1: In the period from April 3, 2024 to June 3, 2024 an applicant for a doctoral program at AFAD will fill out and sent an electronic application which will be posted on the AFAD web page

Electronic application can be found:

• for AFAD students in AIS (in the left in the offer –Applicant´s Applications)
• for students from other schools on the AFAD web page https://www.vsvu.sk/sk/prijimacie-pohovory/elektronicka-prihlaska/?v=LRJ8jJO2
• An applicant´s CV must be directly inserted in the electronic application

Step 2: Use the following email address kozakova@vsvu.sk for sending the following attachments:

• A proof of payment of the fee for the admissions process (e.g. statement of payment from internet banking) - the fee must be paid by June 3, 2024, when paying it is necessary to state a variable symbol, specific symbol and as a Message or Additional data – NAME and SURNAME of the applicant, otherwise the payment will not be matched.

Step 3:

n the period between June 11, 2024 from 12:00 am. – June 14, 2023 to 12:00 am an applicant shall insert a portfolio (applicants for Fine Arts programs) and further documents for an admissions process for a doctoral program via web page: https://ulozisko.vsvu.sk/ in the PDF format max. up to 100 MB:

• a CV and detailed account of artistic or publication activity and activities of artistic creation related to study programs.
• a brief proposal of the dissertation project, which has to be in accordance with the topic that the applicant has applied for.
• certificates of completed language exams (in case there are any)
• a copy of the second level study diploma. In case of an international diploma, the official translation into Slovak is required (with the exception of Czech schools)
• a copy of diploma supplement, or a transcript of records with calculated weighted study average which will be confirmed prior to the enrolment deadline by the Study Office of a particular university (applicants from other universities -not from AFAD) in case of a document issued abroad it must be accompanied with an official translation into Slovak no later than the enrolment date.
• foreign applicants, and applicants who studied abroad, will, in case of being admitted to AFAD, submit an official decision on the recognition of/diplomas/certificates issued internationally no later than the enrolment date

For more information check the following link:
Viac informácií: https://www.minedu.sk/23276-sk/akademicke-uznavanie-dokladov-o-vzdelani-a-stupna-vzdelania/

Information on doctoral programs is provided by the AFAD Study Department: 

Anna Valentínyová

Doctoral level study, Supplementary pedagogical study

02 5942 8512

doktor@vsvu.sk

Form of entrance exam

The admissions process of doctoral studies at AFAD includes an admissions interview, on the basis, of which the applicant´s individual skills and preconditions to meet requirements of doctoral studies at AFAD are examined.

Admissions interview consists of the following parts:

• a presentation of the artistic portfolio (relevant only for Fine Arts study programs, Fine Art, Design, Restoration, Architecture, Art Conservation and Restoration), or presentation of the publication portfolio (relevant for the study program History and Theory of Fine Arts and Architecture)
• a presentation of the project and dissertation topic
• a discussion with an applicant

Each member of the admissions committee evaluates the portfolio and artistic activities related to the study programs, project on the dissertation topic, discussion with an applicant based on the sum of points from individual members of the committee. The results of the evaluation and the order of the applicants are submitted by the admissions committee to the Rector of AFAD who decides on the admission for the study program at AFAD. The applicant will receive the admissions decision in accordance with the law and AFAD regulations.

The admissions condition and the course of the admissions procedure for doctoral studies are regulated in detail by the Internal Regulations on the Admissions Process at AFAD.

• Apply the application for study

  03.04.2024 - 03.06.2024

• Performance of the entrance exam

  25.06.2024 - 26.06.2024

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Anticipated number of applicants to be accepted
3


Additions

• CV (paper form, electronic form)
• (electronic form)
• (paper form, electronic form)
• (paper form, electronic form)
• (paper form, electronic form)
• (electronic form)
• (electronic form)

Annual tuition fees
Standard length of study: 700 €
Study longer than the standard length of study program, parallel studies: 1000 €


The fee for admission procedure
application form: 40 €
E-application form: 40 €

Billing information

A 40 euro fee is to be paid via bank transfer:

• Account number - IBAN: SK42 8180 0000 0070 0007 2516
• SWIFT: SPSRSKBAXXX
• Variable symbol: 648 003
• Constant symbol: 0308
• Specific symbol: six-digit number starting with 24 and followed by a four-digit number consisting of the application filing number, before which zeroes must be added. Example: application filing number is 345, so specific symbol will be 240345
• Account owner: Vysoká škola výtvarných umení, Hviezdoslavovo nám. 18, 814 37 Bratislava, Slovenská republika
• Bank: ŠTÁTNA POKLADNICA Radlinského 32, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovakia

Always up-to-date news about university Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava on your email.
We will send you all the information about important events and deadlines.

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