Vladimir Suchánek (February 12, 1933 – January 25, 2021) was a Czech graphic artist and postage stamp designer.

Early life and career

Suchánek was born on 12 February 1933 in Nové Město nad Metují. He studied at Charles University in Prague (1952–54), but dropped out, under Professors Bouda, Lidický and Salcman, and at the

Academy of Fine Arts in Prague The Academy of Fine Arts, Prague ( cs, Akademie výtvarných umění v Praze; AVU) is an art college in Prague, Czech Republic. Founded in 1799, it is the oldest art college in the country. The school offers twelve master's degree programs and one ...

(1954–60), where he specialized in graphic arts under Professor Silovský. He specialized in graphic arts, painting, book illustrations, stamp designs and bookplates. He graduated from the Pedagogical University in 1954 and The Academy of Art in Prague in 1961. His work has been exhibited in many major collections. The former musician played in the sixties together with other stamp designers in a band named ''Grafičanka''. He was President of the Hollar Society, the leading Czech graphic art organisation.

Stamp designer

He was the designer of several stamp for the Czech Republic, but he also was the designer of the stamp for the 1000th anniversary of the death of St. Adalbert in 1997. This stamp was released in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Poland and the Vatican. Suchánek was a member of HOLLAR, the Association of Czech Graphic Artists. Since 1995, he served as President of the Association.In 1997, he was appointed a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, based in Vienna. In 2006, he was awarded a state decoration – a Medal for service to art. Suchánek came from a generation that played a crucial positive role in the development of Czech art in the second half of the 20th century. Suchánek's graphic prints reveal not only a rich imagination and characterful poetry, but also a masterful command of colour lithography, which is his graphic technique of choice. He has achieved widespread international recognition in this field, collecting 27 top awards for his work.

Shows

By 2008 he had held 146 one-man shows in the Czech Republic and abroad – in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Japan, the US, Sweden, Denmark, Poland and Slovakia. He has taken part in almost 300 exhibitions, including international biennials of graphic art – Ljubljana, Kraków, Paris, Trieste, Grenchen, Buenos Aires, Frechen, Bradford, Biella, Rijeka, Segovia, Tokyo, Heidelberg, Nuremberg, Malbork, Lodz, Frederikshavn, Berlin, Miami, Toronto, Fredrikstad and Beijing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suchanek, Vladimir 1933 births 2021 deaths Czech stamp designers Czech graphic designers Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts People from Nové Město nad Metují Charles University alumni