Martina Ivičič
The tradition of the creative symposium and exhibition called Touches (Dotyky) started in 1998 and has always been united with Plavecký Štvrtok village. The founder and initiator of Dotyky is Alojz Machaj who is a woodcarver, plastic artist, painter, visual art talents hunter and art collector. He has been supporting young artists and their exhibitions for more than 20 years now.The collective exhibition presented at the Bratislava´s City Hall patio in August 2017 was a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the symposium dedicated to young artworks. Dotyky 2017 presented the work of ten woodcarvers, visual artists working primarily with wood. The key to the selection of these artists was based on Machaj´s natural interest and his knowledge of their works while attending various smaller presentations and exhibitions. Each of them presented one’s own unique style and the contrast of two generations created a consistent whole representing a full scale of techniques of work with wood.