Ateliér No. 3, February 7, 2008

in

Table of Contents [hide]

Valdštejn a jeho doba, pages 1 and 2

– Michal Šroněk: Albrecht of Waldstein and His Era (exhibition, Praha, Valdštejnská jízdárna / Waldstein Riding School, 15. 11. 2007 – 2. 3. 2008)

The major exhibition Albrecht of Waldstein (Wallenstein) and His Era, curated by Eliška Fučíková (Senate Chancellery) and Ladislav Čepička (Military History Institute), was launched by the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, the National Museum Prague and the Military History Institute Prague. The visitor number to this outstanding exhibition evidences the interest of the Czech public in the culturo-historical projects focused on major personalities and / or periods in Czech history, such as Rudolph II and Prague (see At. Nos 15-16/97) and Charles IV, Emperor by the Grace of God (see At. No. 4/06, 20/07). It is symptomatic that these projects are launched thanks to collaboration of state institutions, which only are able to guarantee the sufficient financial backup. The high visitor number – around one thousand visitors during working days and around two thousands on weekends – results also from the lavish advertising campaign. It is particularly striking in comparison with the low visitor number to the unique exhibition Johann Fischer of Erlach, held at the Clam-Gallas Palace. The Waldstein exhibition is held at the authentic exhibition space of the Waldstein Palace, build by the famous general Albrecht of Waldstein (1583 – 1634) in the first half of the 17th century. The fate of Albrecht of Waldstein, who was a major figure in the Thirty Years’ War, was exceptional – a man who he came to the fantastic fortunes and fame to be assassinated as a traitor in Cheb (Eger) in 1634. The exhibition is divided into four sections, dedicated to Waldstein’s youth and beginnings of his military career (Invidia), his exceptionally successful activities as an entrepreneur in the war era (Terra Felix), his career as a general in the Thirty Years’ War (Xerxes the Great, Artaxerxes) and Waldstein’s “life after life” (Bestia vixit). The second section, showing the two faces of the war entrepreneur and the generous patron of art, is particularly interesting for an art historian. These two activities of the famous army commander were symbolically materialized in his splendid palace in Prague, projected and decorated by Italian artists Giovanni Pieroni and Baccia del Bianco; the palace garden was decorated with bronze sculptures by the famous mannerist sculptor Adriaen de Vries. Artworks ordered by Waldstein, presented alongside with artworks ordered simultaneously for the Prague churches and monasteries, evidence that Prague of the 1620s and the 1630s was a flourishing centre of art. Šroněk asks a question whether the St. Thomas Church, located next to the Waldstein Palace, was furnished with two canvases by Peter Paul Rubens in the 1630s due to the church’s “competition” with Waldstein’s patronage of arts. Šroněk finds noteworthy that Karel Škréta, the major figure in Baroque painting in Bohemia, returned to Prague in the 1630s. A special subsection is dedicated to Waldstein’s horoscope and the period astrology. The third section is focused on Waldstein’s heyday as the army commander in the Thirty Years’ War. Artworks on display echo the period fascination with the Europe-wide war. The fourth section explores Waldstein’s life echoed in European and Czech art of the 19th century. The exhibition evidences the two faces of Albrecht of Waldstein – the unscrupulous army commander and entrepreneur one one side and the generous patron of arts on the other side. His activities in the latter field, both in Prague and his country domains, run counter the cliché “inter arma silent musae”. The exhibition is accompanied by the Guide (Czech and English versions), including the major items on display with concise comments, the monograph about the Waldstein Palace, the novel Wanders by Jaroslav Durych and the lavish scholarly publication Albrecht of Waldstein – Inter arma silent musae? (620 pp. plates, Academia Praha 2007), including contributions by Eliška Fučíková, Ladislav Čepička and number of leading Czech historians and art historian on particular themes connected with Waldstein and his era. Generally speaking, the exhibition Albrecht of Waldstein and His Era is a major project. The only section Šroněk does not find well-considered, regarding both the exhibition and the accompanying scholarly publication, is the section devoted to the Waldsteinean themes echoed in 19th-century art.

Valdštějn a jeho doba, pages 1 and 2

– Antonín Kostlán: Albrecht of Waldstein and His Era (exhibition, Praha, Valdštejnská jízdárna / Waldstein Riding School, 15. 11. 2007 – 2. 3. 2008)

Kostlán compares the above exhibition to the Waldstein exhibition held in Prague in 1934 on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Waldstein’s assassination. Due to the political reasons, two exhibitions were held simultaneously in 1934; the first, devoted to Albrecht of Waldstein, was presented at the Waldstein Palace and the latter, focused on the Bohemian Kingdom from 1575 to 1648, was presented at the Museum of Decorative Arts Prague. The 1934-Waldstein exhibition was isolated from the period milieu. The recent exhibition has integrated the figure of the famous army commander into the period contexts, pointing out the (from the contemporary point of view) discrepancies of period thinking. The curators explored broader contexts than Waldstein’s domain, described in period sources as Terra Felix (“Fortunate Country”). In contrast to the period manuscripts and coins, which were dominant in the 1934-exhibition, the sources evidencing period culture are crucial regarding the current project. The core of the exhibition is artworks – paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures. The curator Eliška Fučíková stresses the continuity of the famous Ruldolphine court and Waldstein regarding the art patronage; in this way, Waldstein was a true heir of Bohemian kings after the royal court had moved from Prague to Vienna after the death of Rudolph II. The exhibition evokes the period life in its full variety, pointing out the Baroque background of Waldstein’s personality.

Přes řeku spolu soupeří dvě (ne)souměřitelné výstavy: Valdštejn a Gallas, page 3

– Ivan P. Muchka: Two (In)Commensurable Exhibitions Are Competing on the Two Banks of the Vltava River: Waldstein and Gallas (exhibition, Praha, Clam-Gallasův palác / Clam-Gallas Palace, 30. 11. 2007 – 27. 1. 2008)

The ambitious exhibition held at the Clam-Gallas Palace has a florid title The Clam-Gallas Palace / Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach / Architecture – Decoration – The Residence Life. Despite it, the title does not indicate the cardinal theme of the ambitious project – the noble family of Clam-Gallas that was influencing political, social and cultural events in Bohemia for a period of three centuries. The successful career of Matthew Gallas started with Waldstein’s assassination – Gallas, one of Waldstein’s army officers, was the leader of Waldstein’s assassins. He was rewarded by Waldstein’s large domain in North Bohemia (Duchy of Frýdland / Friedland). Paradoxically, the Gallas family opened the Waldstein Museum at the Friedland Castle in the beginning of the 19th century. It was one of the first museums established in Bohemia. The chief curator of the Waldstein exhibition collaborated with about seventy scholars in writing the lavish scholarly publication. The exhibition Fischer of Erlach / Gallas was the first project curated by Martin Krummholz. The curator based his project on his many-years research. In contrast to the curators of the Waldstein exhibitions, who were able to request for loans from international collections being aware of the support from the side of the state institutions, Krummholz depended on himself only. The incommensurable sponsorship is markedly echoed in the advertising campaigns of the two projects. Despite the major scholarly importance of the Fischer / Gallas exhibition and the fact that it reveals surprising results of Krummholz’ research, and it presents a number of attractive items on display, the visitor number to the Fischer / Gallas exihibition is low and the interest in this project from the side the mass media is negligible. The Fischer / Gallas exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue including the essay by Martin Krummholz and contributions by Milan Svoboda (the region of North Bohemia) and Markéta Kubelková (devoted to the Gallas family and music).

Petr Vogel: Starý pecky naposled, page 4

– Alena Křížová: The Old Hits for the Last Time (exhibition, Frýdek-Místek, Galerie Langův dům / Gallery Lang’s House, 18. 12. 2007 – 7. 3. 2008)

Petr Vogel (1966) was an assistant lecturer at the Department of Metal and Jewellery, the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design Prague, for many years. He is a versatile artists. He was trained as the gold- and silversmith. He was a pupil of the famous medallist Jří Harcuba. He contributed by several sculptural projects of Conceptual character, connected with the landscape and the history of his native region of Chomutov. The cardinal field of his interest is jewellery. In the turn of the 1980s and the 1990s, he replaced the traditional understanding of jewellery by an innovatory type; understanding the jewel as the independent artwork, he made jewels of untraditional materials, often of transient nature (plexiglass, rubber, organic materials etc.). Vogel’s jewels could be interpreted as a story, a fairy-tale, an anecdote, a comment on the actual event etc. The artist declared that he mounted this type of exhibition for the last time due to the fact that he had started to create a different type of jewellery.

Neklid duše a poezie tvarů, page 4

– Marta Sylvestrová: Discomposure of the Soul and Poetry of Shapes (exhibition, Brno, Galerie HaDivadlo / HaDivadlo Theatre Gallery, 18. 1. – 10. 3.)

Evžen Jecho (1945) is well-known of his perfect prints and designs. He is also a poet expressing “discomposure of the soul”, how he describes his desire for perfection; he wrote nine books of poems. Since the 1990s, he has contributed by excellent computer-generated graphic designs. Sylvestrová finds particularly noteworthy that he created the best of his designs free from any commission, offering his brilliant works as the sources inspiration to international designers through publishing them in the Internet. This fact was appreciated by the founding president of ICOGRADA, the designer Willy de Majo (1917 – 1993).

Memplex Rip, page 4

– Marisa Příhodová: Memplex Rip (exhibition, Blansko, Galerie města Blanska / Blansko Municipal Gallery, 5. 1. – 3. 2.)

The series of paintings Memplex City by Veronika Drahotová (1975) is a loose interpretation of Richard Dawkin’s meme theory. Drahotová’s newest paintings are characterized by strange sexual and melancholic morbidity of colours inbetween sex and death and / or reproduction and imitation. The organized chaos is visualized as grotesque but attractive harmony between the organic and the scientific, evoking questions such as “Who are we?”, “Where are we coming from?” and “Where are we coming to?” The question “Where could we find satisfaction?” is cardinal.

Interactivity, page 4

– Stanislav Zippe: Interactivity (exhibition, Liberec, Galerie Die Aktualität des Schönen..., 16. 1. – 15. 2.)

Works by Tomáš Skalík (1978) are characterized by the contrast between the advanced technology and the way the artist installs the visual elements. The essence of Skalík’s sculptures is invisible; he composes his works, characterized by strict geometric forms, of laser and infra-red rays. His works are interactive, visualized and / or interpreted by the presence of the viewer.

Jsem doma a Jdu ven, page 4

– Jan Zálešák: I Am at Home and I Go Out of Doors (exhibition, Brno, Dům umění – Galerie 99 / House of Art – Gallery 99, 16. 1. – 10. 2.)

Tereza Kabůrková (1980) graduated from the Faculty of Applied Arts and Design in Ústí nad Labem, the department of photography headed by Pavel Baňka. Her photographs, presented at the Brno House of Art, depict interiors, views of window and landscapes. The project could be interpreted as a complex metaphor of the world as the image of the soul. The Kabůrková exhibition is a part of a broader project KICK-OFF, a series of exhibitions launched by the recently established Curatorial studies at the Faculty of Applied Arts and Design in Ústí nad Labem. Except of the Gallery 99, they collaborate with independent artist-run galleries (Prague: A. M. 180, Entrance, NoD, 35 m2; Pilsen: Petrohrad Gallery). Zálešák points out that Adéla Hrušková, who curated the Kabůrková exhibition, decided for a relatively “easy way” of the solo exhibition.

Médium je sdělení, page 5

– Bohdana Kerbachová: Medium Is a Message (exhibition, Praha, Ateliér Josefa Sudka / Josef Sudek’s Studio, 11. 1. – 10. 2.)

The Latvian artist Ivars Gravlejs (1979) and the Russian artist Avdej Ter-Oganian (1961) present twelve images of cameras from a commercial catalogue as a symbol of progress in photography. Their art gesture contributes (after a delay) to the trend illustrating the “ground zero” of Modernity. The project is based on the extreme Conceptualism. The text by the curator Václav Magid is crucial for understanding of the project. The objective of the exhibition is to ask questions about the character and / or evidences of progress.

Dvě konceptuální východiska, page 5

– Jiří Valoch: Two Conceptual Points (exhibition, Ostrava, Výstavní síň Sokolská 26 / Sokolská Street 26 Exhibition Hall, 10. 1. – 15. 2.)

Works by Tomáš Hlavina (1966) and Pavel Rudolf (1943) are based on Conceptual thinking combined with the application of the language of geometry. Their works are distinguished in the specific playfulness and / or metaphors. The differences between the two artists result mostly from the fact that they are members of two different generations. Rudolf’s works are characterized by the autonomy of the pictorial structure, distinguished in the particular concept and the unique “rules”. Hlavina has replaced the traditional autonomy of the artwork by various allusions, correlations and connotations, resulting in the new metacontext. Works by Rudolf and Hlavina evidence the power of Conceptual thinking and the language of geometry.

Jana Babincová: CODE IT, page 5

– Jiří Valoch: Jana Babincová: CODE IT (exhibition, Brno, Galerie mladých / Gallery of the Youth, 18. 1. – 15. 2.)

Early paintings by Jana Babincová (1977), a graduate from the Faculty of Visual Arts Brno, were characterized by details of the periphery, often reduced into geometric abstractions. Recently, she has contributed by repetitionary geometric structures resulting from coding a text; the principle she chooses was based on the counterparts colour / grapheme. “Transcribing” a text into a visual geometric structure, based on applying the strict rules, resulted in a new type of information. Babincová’s newest works are presented in Brno. The artist has replaced the previous principle DECODE IT by CODE IT. Valoch finds particularly noteworthy Babincová’s interactive computer project: the visitor is invited to create coded images of texts according to his / her choice.

Z deníků vizionáře a turistky, page 5

– Jitka Hlaváčková: From the Diaries of the Visionary and the Tourist (exhibition, Praha, Karlín Studios, Ivan Vosecký – Nigdo (“Nowbody”), 17. 1. – 10. 2.; Hunt kastner artworks, Štěpánka Šimlová – Air of the Thames, 9. 1. – 8. 3.)

Ivan Vosecký (1963) commented critically on and / or questioned many cultural idols and traditional values of our “global” civilization. He visualized his scepticism in impulsive slogans. His confession of vanity has resulted in the threshold of nihilism and his true visionariness has sublimated into the stunning smile-latry and fascinating visual show. A similar shift is evident in the recent works by Štěpánka Šimlová (1966). Her newest project Air of the Thames evidences she stopped commenting on actual topics. Šimlová’s newest work is traditionally monumental but refined; it echoes the “European-Spanish and Indian heritage” that merged into the celebration of the Day of the Deads. Hlaváčková thinks the two projects herald a turn in the work of the two artists: their rebellious years have been over, so that they have started to search for better sides of the current planetary constellation.

USA – Uncertain States of America, page 6

– Ludvík Hlaváček: USA – Uncertain States of America (exhibition, Praha, Galerie Rudolfinum / Rudolfinum Gallery, 6. 12. 2007 – 24. 2. 2008)

Prague is the eight venue of the touring exhibition Uncertain States of America (the first venue was Oslo in 2005) that presents a cross-section of young American art (artists born after 1970), selected by three leading European curators Gunnar B. Kvaran (director of Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art Oslo), Daniel Birnbaum and Hans Ulrich Obrist based on an extensive two-year research throughout the USA; the curators point out they were focused on artists working outside the renowned art centres of N. Y. and L. A. Hlaváček thinks that a shift in understanding of the centre, connected with the extinction of the unifying style, has resulted from the profound transformation of contemporary society. Critics are aware that the current accelerated development in art has not resulted from artists’ wilful hunt for originality; it reflects faithfully the rhythm and structure of the time, despite that it has not echoed the social contexts in their complexity yet. Hall 1: Playing with Reality. The curators point out that contemporary young American art is characterized by a renewal of sculpting but painting is traditionally pushed into the background in the USA. The sculpture is able to replace reality by illusion and / or to simulate illusion trough reality (material, shape). The equality of reality and illusion corresponds to the interactive character of human cognition. Works by Frank Benson, Hannah Greely and Seth Price are examples of refined plays on the verge of reality and illusion. Hall 2: Beauty and Its Contemporary Forms. Art and beauty are connected unavoidably. Regarding contemporary art, beauty is not a norm but a way of cognition. Works by Taft Green, Christian Holstad and Mario Ybarra Jr. meditate on and / or analyze and interpret models of cognition. The refined video work Shadowroom II by Adam Putman is almost “invisible”, inviting the spectator to observe the detail. Hall 4: Painting. The curators point out that painting has only a small part in American art; they find Nate Lowman’s works typical of contemporary American painting. Lowman’s works are composed of diverse materials – newspapers, silk-screen prints, digital prints, photo copies and paintings that evoke impersonal prints. It is a way how uncertainty is expressed. The artist and the spectator have the right (or the obligation) to find the message. Works by Guyton \ Walker emanate the unrestrained joy amidst the current inflation of images. Works by Dan Colen correspond to Hlaváček’s idea of contemporary painting; he thinks Colen’s work are distinguished in the inner consistent mergence of painting, Concept, aesthetics and logic combined with the understanding of illusion and reality. Hlaváček was also impressed by Paul Chan’s work projected on the floor. Workd from the series of 12 video films, screened at the Small Hall, are often characterized by “intrusion” upon autonomy of the artwork. It seems the thought-provoking exhibition evidences that the USA is a rare country where uncertainty has its place as a precondition of humanity.

Everything Is Possible, pages 6 and 7

– Filomena Borecká: Everything Is Possible (exhibition, Praha, Galerie Rudolfinum / Rudolfinum Gallery, 5. 12. 2007 – 24. 2. 2008)

The American dream – “Everything Is Possible” – has been recently questioned within domestic and international contexts. From a point of view of a Central European art theorist, the exhibition Uncertain States of America is a weak and unrepresentative project. American curators and theorists would prepare a markedly different project, nevertheless, the European viewing angle is most interesting of this megalomaniac project. The curators selected works by young American artists that meditate on political situation of their country. Cynicism, melancholy, scepticism, powerlessness and feeling guilty are characteristic of the exhibition. Works on display do not communicate each others in any way. Despite that the exhibition is interesting and thought-provoking within the Czech context, it is not a representative cross-section of contemporary American art.

Stály a čekaly, až se objeví, page 7

– Zuzana Štefková: They Stood and Waited until He (She, They...) Appeared (exhibition, Praha, NoD, 10. 1. – 31. 1.)

The above exhibition, presenting works by Luděk Rathouský (1975), Sláva Sobotovičová (1973), Tereza Velíková (1979), Jan Šerých (1972) and Lenka Vítková (1975) explored the themes of monotony, repetition and transmission of information. Despite that the exhibition was not a curatorial project (none of works on display was “ordered” for this particular occasion), it was distinguished in the inner consistence that resulted from the participating artists’ faithfulness to their respective programmes.

Rafal Bujnowski, page 7

– Václav Krůček: Rafal Bujnowski (exhibition, Praha, Galerie Jiří Švestka / Jiří Švestka Gallery, 14. 12. 2007 – 9. 2. 2008)

Under the title Lamp Black, the newest works by the internationally renowned Polish painter Rafal Bujnowski (1974) are presented. Bujnowski’s newest paintings differ radically from his previous output which was distinguished in the poetics of objects and the well-thought-out concept in depicting the banality of everydayness. The series of oils on canvas Lamp Black (Lamp Black is a name of an oil paint which reflects light) refers to Modernity in painting, particularly American painting from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s. The series of paintings Lamp Black is based on the phenomenalistic approach, distinguished in the sensitive understanding of the material quality of colour and its light nuances. Krůček thinks that Bujnowski excels in working with the power and the burden of Modernity regarding the tactile reality and physical nature of the colour trail and its “breaking” into optical illusion and perspective. The exhibition is accompanied by a publication including photographs of all paintings from the series Lamp Black taken by Bujnowski.

Za hranicí krajiny – neKLID, page 8

– Kateřina Nora Nováková: Across the Frontier of the Landscape – discomposure (exhibition, Liberec, Malá výstavní síň / Small Exhibition Hall, 16. 1. – 16. 2.)

The photographer Michael Čtveráček (1971) has been focused on taking landscapes since he studied at the TV and Film School Prague. He has contributed by series of landscapes of various types, ranging from documentary to abstraction. The Čtveráček’s exhibition is composed of two complementary series of photographs – Across the Frontier of the Landscape (2002) and disCOMPOSURE (1999 – 2002). The first series consists of photographs of the small square format, depicting details of landscape – grass, stones and / or the far skyline visualized in a scale of grey colour. The latter series consists of large-scale prints of real snowy landscapes that often evoke abstract structures.

Novákova Identifikace, page 8

– Jaromír Typlt: Novák’s Identification (exhibition, Liberec, Oblastní galerie / Regional Gallery, 13. 12. 2007 – 9. 3. 2008)

The Vratislav Karel Novák (1942) retrospective is held under the title Identification. The title has a hidden prick: Is the retrospective really an identification of Novák and his oeuvre? Moreover, it seems Novák accepted the superficial “rules of identification”: Novák = the famous large-scale object of Metronome (1990) installed in the Letná Park in Prague. Novák’s cyclotes and mobiles are characterized more by the motif of repetition / cycle than by the motif of motion. The humour and charm of Novák’s mobiles result from the regular circulation. Many of Novák’s playful mechanisms and kinetic sculptures are ambiguous or “unidentifiable”. The Novák retrospective includes a lavish collection of photographs taken by major photographers (Pavel Baňka, Tono Stano, Josef Honzík, Luboš Dvořák etc.) in collaboration with the artist. The exhibition is enriched in the metal sound generated by some sculptures. Typlt thinks that Novák’s retrospective is not the artist’s definite “identification” but it exposes new aspects of Novák’s work.

Umění reakce, page 12

– Mariana Serranová: The Art of Reaction (exhibition, Praha, Roxy – etc. galerie / Gallery etc., 14. 12. 2007 – 13. 1. 2008)

Milan Mikuláštík and Jan Nálevka has been working as a team under the name MINA (“Mine”) for a period of 13 years. The curator Jiří Ptáček presented the MINA group in chronological order in pointing out the most fruitful period from 1999 to 2003 and their recent works. Both artists present their works within solo projects. Mikuláštík is also an active member of the group of artists Guma guar. The two aspects in one are typical of works by the MINA team: the association with a particular site and / or a theme and the paradoxical correlation to this situation, similar to parody, irony and Dada. During their studies at the Faculty of Visual Arts in Brno, Mikuláštík and Nálevka were influenced by the Conceptual approaches of J. H. Kocman and Jiří Valoch. Since this time, they have contributed by projects working with the text and / or applying the principles of the ready-made. Many of projects by the MINA team de alt with the theme of collaboration between the two artists.Their dominant means of expression are photography, video film and video installation.

Resetting / Jiné cesty k věcnosti, page 12

– Edith Jeřábková: Resetting / Alternative Ways to Objectivity (exhibition, Praha, GHMP – Městská knihovna / Gallery City Prague – Municipal Library, 21. 12. 2007 – 23. 3. 2008)

The exhibition Resetting, curated by Petr Vaňous in cooperation with Petr Malina, presents figurative paintings by contemporary Czech artists (Adam Štech, 1980; Aleš Hudeček, 1973; Alice Nikitinová, 1979; Anna Neborová, 1968; Dalibor David, 1972; Daniel Pitín, 1977; Filip Černý, 1975; František Matoušek, 1967; Jakub Hošek, 1979; Jakub Špaňhel, 1976; Jana Farmanová, 1970; Jaromír Novotný, 1974; Jiří Petrbok. 1962; Jonáš Czesaný, 1972; Josef Bolf, 1971; Lubomír Typlt, 1975; Miroslav Polách, 1980; Pavel Šmíd, 1964; Petr Malina, 1976; Petr Pastrňák, 1962; Petr Písařík, 1968; Robert Šalanda, 1976; Zbyněk Sedlecký, 1976; KW, 1959; Ladislava Gažiová, 1981; Veronika Holcová, 1973). Jeřábková holds opinion that the official concept, expressed in Vaňous’ text, has not been materialized in the set of works on display. Despite that it includes many good works, Jeřábková finds the exhibition a presentation of Vaňous’ “racing-team” in its full variety.

Michael Rittstein – Vlhkou stopou, page 16

– Robert Janás: Michael Rittstein – A Moist Trail (exhibition, Praha, Národní galerie – Veletržní palác / National Gallery – Trade-Fair Palace, 12. 12. 2007 – 27. 4. 2008)

Michael Rittstein (1949, see At. Nos 5/88, 25/89, 16/90, 6/91, 14, 25-26/92, 11, 12/93, 8, 25/94, 2, 10, 22/95, 19, 22/96, 2, 3, 12/97, 16-17/98, 14-15/99, 21/00, 2/01, 5, 6, 18, 24/02, 3, 8, 22/03, 2/04, 12, 13, 16-17, 22/05, 2/06, 2/07) has been a renowned figure in Czech painting since the early 1980s. Within the Central European contexts, his professorship at the Academy of Fine Arts Prague indicates his unquestionable position on the official scene. He became famous for his figurative paintings that echoed the dark atmosphere of existential isolation in “Socialist” society in Czechoslovakia during the late 1970s and the early 1980s. This type of work culminated in the mid-1980s when Rittstein became a classic in a way. Rittstein was one of major representatives of the Czech Grotesque. His 1980s-paintings were distinguished in wild animality; he replaced depressiveness and scepticism, typical of his previous works, by rebellious irony. Janás points out that Rittstein risked his prestige as a renowned classic by searching for a new style. Rittstein’s recent works of neo-Expressionist type, similar to New New Painting, evidence the painters’s originality and invention. His newest canvases, often acrylics, are distinguished in hedonism, free of the previous rebelliousness. On the occasion of the Michael Rittstein retrospective a lavish monograph was published (Gallery publishing house).

Translated by Magda Němcová