What can plants millions of years old reveal to us? And what might the fossils of plants that grow in our country today look like?
We invite you to the ceremonial opening of the new artwork Dionýz’s Atlas by Slovak visual artist Šimon Chovan. The work is part of the LANDMARKS / STOPS IN THE LANDSCAPE series, which brings contemporary art into the natural environment of the Považie region.
📅 21 November 2026 at 2:30 PM
📍 Meeting point: Farba Beckov, from where we will walk together to Dionýz’s Atlas at Beckovské skalice.
Come and discover an artwork that connects geology, botany, history and contemporary art. Explore the fascinating world of plants whose stories have been inscribed in the landscape for millions of years, and see the nature around us from an entirely new perspective.
When Plants Become the Fossils of the Future
Dionýz’s Atlas is inspired by the life and research of Dionýz Štúr, an important Slovak geologist, palaeontologist and botanist who was born in Beckov. Štúr also studied fossilised plants, which he meticulously documented, redrew and reconstructed.
His scientific work became the starting point for an artwork that connects the past with questions about the future of our landscape.
What if, today, we created fossils of plants that may become an increasingly common part of our natural environment in the future?
In creating the work, Šimon Chovan drew inspiration from the unique natural site of Beckovské skalice, known for its dry, warm environment and the presence of rare plant species.
He selected three plants characteristic of this type of habitat – spring pheasant’s eye, rough-stemmed feather grass and hairy flax. He transferred their forms into limestone through engraving, creating a kind of imaginary fossil record of the future.
The stone objects are mounted on structures reminiscent of tourist information boards. Instead of conventional photographs or illustrations, however, the stories of the plants are told by the stone itself – through its texture and the images engraved into its surface.
The work thus creates an unconventional atlas in which scientific knowledge of nature, artistic imagination and geological time come together.
Dionýz’s Atlas invites us to reflect on how our landscape is changing, what we leave behind in it, and what traces of us future generations may one day discover.
Accompanying Programme
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Presentation of the artwork with the artist Šimon Chovan – meet the artist, who will personally introduce his work and explain how it was created and the ideas behind it. Find out why he chose the plants of Beckovské skalice, how their stone representations were created, and what they might reveal about the future of the landscape.
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Living history with Dionýz Štúr – meet the important Slovak geologist, palaeontologist and botanist, a native of Beckov, who devoted his life to studying nature and the geological structure of the landscape. This pioneer of Slovak geology also researched fossilised plants and their reconstruction. Through living history, we will travel back to the era of his discoveries and learn about the fascinating stories hidden in the rocks and plants beneath our feet.
Programme for Families with Children
Become little explorers of the Považie region! 🌿
Set off with your children on an adventurous journey through art and nature! During the openings of four new artworks from the LANDMARKS / STOPS IN THE LANDSCAPE series, you can explore the beauty of the Považie region together and collect impressions of nature in your very own journal, FOLLOWING THE LANDMARKS TRAIL – My Little Journal of Big Discoveries.
At each of the four stops, you can capture a unique imprint of nature in your journal and create an original keepsake from your shared exploration of the landscape.
The journal and all the materials you need will be available free of charge on site. All you have to do is come along, use your imagination and set off on the trail through the Považie region!
Discover Two Artworks in One Day
Dionýz’s Atlas by Šimon Chovan will officially open alongside Sown in Sediments by Jaroslav Kyša. Both works are part of the LANDMARKS / STOPS IN THE LANDSCAPE series and invite you to discover the Beckov landscape through contemporary art.
More information about the opening of Sown in Sediments and its accompanying programme can be found here:
https://www.trencin2026.eu/podujatie/otvorenie-diela-zasiate-v-sedimentoch-jaroslav-kysa/
About the Artist
Šimon Chovan is a Slovak visual artist who lives and works between Dekýš, Vienna and Amsterdam. In his sculptures and spatial installations, he connects nature, the human body and technology.
His practice combines industrial and natural materials, including ochre pigment from his native Banská Štiavnica region. His objects often evoke both living organisms and artificial structures, exploring the boundaries between nature and the human-made world.
In the project Dendrites & Tissues (2024), he creates branching structures reminiscent of neural networks, insect tunnels and technological components.
In the installation Leeching States (2025), he works with lithium-bearing minerals and remnants of recycled batteries. In doing so, he highlights the connection between everyday technologies and the extraction of natural resources, as well as its environmental consequences. The project was presented at MuseumsQuartier in Vienna.
Together with Matúš Bišťan, he received the CE ZA AR Award for Interior Design (2021). He was a finalist for the Exit Award (2020) and the KAF Young Art Prize (2026). His works are also represented in the collection of the Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín.
About the LANDMARKS / STOPS IN THE LANDSCAPE Project
LANDMARKS / STOPS IN THE LANDSCAPE is a series of site-specific artistic interventions situated throughout the Považie landscape, close to cycling routes and hiking trails.
The individual artworks function as both landmarks and contemplative points in the landscape – places where visitors can stop, take in their surroundings and discover the historical, natural and cultural layers of the area.
The project aims to create artworks that respond sensitively to a particular place and develop the relationship between landscape, memory, movement and contemporary perceptions of the environment. LANDMARKS thus combines art with the exploration of the region, inviting visitors to experience familiar places from a new perspective.
Come and discover the stories hidden in stone with us. You may never look at the plants you pass every day in quite the same way again. 🌱
The activity is carried out in cooperation with OOCR Región Považie. The activity is implemented with financial support from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Slovak Republic.
