Hommage à Mikuláš Medek
11. 9. – 12. 10. 2019
FREE GUIDED TOURS in Czech Language
We cordially invite you to join Zdeněk Sklenář as he leads you through the exhibition
5 October 2019 at 11 am
Due to limited capacity, please confirm your participation by sending an email at least 5 days before the event starts: event@zdeneksklenar.cz
Another show with which Galerie Zdeněk Sklenář is opening its autumn exhibition season is Homage to Mikuláš Medek. Seven paintings, which are a part of Czech history have their origin in Mikuláš Medek’s early works, which are associated chiefly with the 1950s to the 1970s. Without a doubt, the main highlight of the exhibition is his legendary Cranachesque Supralyric with an Imperialist Flower. The painting was preceded by a photograph of his wife, Emily, taken in 1950, which bore the same title but included no flower. The other displayed paintings are also linked to very personal, often even fateful, stories from the life of an extremely significant artist – in fear of the Czechoslovak State Security forces, Medek hid some of his paintings in a sofa, others in a pile pf coal, and some he even sliced up with a knife.
“My personal memories relating to the exhibited paintings have been passed on to me by others. It was only the creation of the painting Angel of Evil Birds that I actually perceived personally as an adult. Two often-used motifs came together in this work – birds and angels. However, this angel’s wings are only schematic; the large bird’s head in the centre with right-angled elements also appears in other works. Conversely, the angel has an empty cuboid-shaped head. Threatening spikes, reminiscent of the shards on the wall in the painting Scream from the 1950s, also make a reappearance,” says Mikuláš Medek’s daughter, Dr. Eva Kosáková.
According to the gallerist Zdeněk Sklenář: “Medek is a phenomenon who belonged to a group of artists which another key group, led by Zdeněk Sýkora, did not adore. Today, works by both of them hang close to each other in a permanent exhibition at the National Gallery and both of them would certainly be astonished. Additionally, the shocking increase in the price of Mikuláš Medek’s paintings is heartening for all who believe in the power of Czech art.”
We cordially invite you to join Zdeněk Sklenář as he leads you through the exhibition
5 October 2019 at 11 am
Due to limited capacity, please confirm your participation by sending an email at least 5 days before the event starts: event@zdeneksklenar.cz
Another show with which Galerie Zdeněk Sklenář is opening its autumn exhibition season is Homage to Mikuláš Medek. Seven paintings, which are a part of Czech history have their origin in Mikuláš Medek’s early works, which are associated chiefly with the 1950s to the 1970s. Without a doubt, the main highlight of the exhibition is his legendary Cranachesque Supralyric with an Imperialist Flower. The painting was preceded by a photograph of his wife, Emily, taken in 1950, which bore the same title but included no flower. The other displayed paintings are also linked to very personal, often even fateful, stories from the life of an extremely significant artist – in fear of the Czechoslovak State Security forces, Medek hid some of his paintings in a sofa, others in a pile pf coal, and some he even sliced up with a knife.
“My personal memories relating to the exhibited paintings have been passed on to me by others. It was only the creation of the painting Angel of Evil Birds that I actually perceived personally as an adult. Two often-used motifs came together in this work – birds and angels. However, this angel’s wings are only schematic; the large bird’s head in the centre with right-angled elements also appears in other works. Conversely, the angel has an empty cuboid-shaped head. Threatening spikes, reminiscent of the shards on the wall in the painting Scream from the 1950s, also make a reappearance,” says Mikuláš Medek’s daughter, Dr. Eva Kosáková.
According to the gallerist Zdeněk Sklenář: “Medek is a phenomenon who belonged to a group of artists which another key group, led by Zdeněk Sýkora, did not adore. Today, works by both of them hang close to each other in a permanent exhibition at the National Gallery and both of them would certainly be astonished. Additionally, the shocking increase in the price of Mikuláš Medek’s paintings is heartening for all who believe in the power of Czech art.”
