I came across this artist when researching my hand sketches. I was lost for words at the beauty of this mans work. The movement and tone he captures in the human figure is so accurate and you cant help but feel a sense of ore.
My opinion, my conviction, is that in his work an artist should give an account of himself, and of the time and place he inhabits. The artist should reveal the pretence (or lies) of the establishment, unmasking what is happening to man and showing how man is manipulated and dehumanized. The artist should present an account of the soul of his contemporary.
Oldřich Kulhánek
should give an account of himself, and of the time and place he inhabits - This I like, for me it makes perfect sense. After all I tend to keep all the objects I find. Today while out walking I picked up a bucket with no bottom...... !!
Anyway back to the Czech painter and printmaker - studied - Prague Academy of Applied Arts, which gave him the foundation of this early artistic way.
University offers the study disciplines of painting, illustration and graphics, fashion design, product design, graphic design, ceramics and porcelain, photography and architecture.
He looks like a jolly old fellow, doesnt he, however I read that he was arrested by the secret police for some prints that claimed he had disgraced the representatives of the communist countries (in particular his images of the face of Stalin) and this had ended up in a court room drama... This for me I guess does go with what he spoke of keeping with the times, place etc. I dont know much on history but I believe the country was within confines with regards to expression or thoughts against the communist dictatorship until 1989. So with that said any art like that would of been frowned upon.With freedom to travel after the fall of the communist party Kulhanek visited the states giving talks and workshops.
One of his many accomplishments is that he created the designs of the new Czech Banknotes, which was a commission that came with a great deal of prestige. He has also become one of the principal designers of Czech stamps, which has included designing a stamp of the present President of the Czech Republic: Mr. Václav Klaus, among other Czech personalities
He was renowned for his extraordinary command of the human figure. In his hands, the figure became the outer manifestation through which the viewer could, themselves, experience the inner struggles of his subjects. Imagine being able to conjure up images in your head on this sentence, never mind execute them down on a work.
I can't help but love his feet work.
In my work you can find parts of the human face, pleading hands, raw hands. For me, the symbol is a way of expressing the age in which I live, the place where I live.
The human face is my symbol. The human face with its lips stuck together, the human face disappearing in torn scraps of paper.
Oldřich Kulhánek
Oldřich Kulhánek, died in 2013 he was also the President of the Hollar Foundation which celebrates its 100 yrs anniversary this year 2017, its aim was to build on old traditions, to support the development of modern Czech art and to achieve the technical excellence of graphic work.
coin celebrating 100 yr history.
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