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Otakar Slavík (18 December 1931 – 3 November 2010) was a painter, draughtsman and printmaker, signatory of
Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...
. He is considered one of the most important colourists in Czech art.Karel Miler, Images of Miraculous Color, in: Otakar Slavík, National Gallery 1991-1992, p. 19


Life

Otakar Slavík was born into a tailor's family in
Hrochův Týnec Hrochův Týnec is a town in Chrudim District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,300 inhabitants. Administrative division Hrochův Týnec consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 ce ...
. He spent his childhood there and graduated from the Stadtschule. After the war he apprenticed for one year in a porcelain factory in
Klášterec nad Ohří Klášterec nad Ohří (; ) is a town in Chomutov District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#M ...
and then moved to the ceramics school in
Bechyně Bechyně (; ) is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, ur ...
(1946-1948). From 1948 to 1952 he studied sculpture at the ''Secondary Industrial School of Stone and Sculpture in Hořice''. After graduation (1952) he was not accepted to the
Academy of Fine Arts in Prague The Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (; 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 doctoral program. History Starting ...
and therefore began to study art at the Faculty of Education of Comenius University in
Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
(prof. Eugen Nevan). From there, he transferred in 1953 to the Faculty of Education at Charles University for the newly opened professorship of painting and drawing for secondary schools (prof. Karel Lidický, Martin Salcman). Martin Salcman, who had studied with Jan Preisler and was friends with
František Kupka František Kupka (23 September 1871 – 24 June 1957), also known as ''Frank Kupka'' or ''François Kupka,'' was a Czech painter and graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, eit ...
, introduced the sculptor Slavík to painting and influenced his work for life with his method of teaching, by emphasis on considering the relationships between visual elements and by pointing out the relative validity of their values. As a teacher, he made a significant impact on completely different painters - his assistant Zdeněk Sýkora, Karel Malich, Vladislav Mirvald, Dalibor Chatrný and Otakar Slavík. Saltzman's pupils, each in their own original way, developed his method of painting. Since the school was outside the centre of communist party interest and control, Professor Salcman and his assistants Zdeněk Sýkora and Kamil Linhart could inform the students about contemporary world art. After graduating in 1958, although he was still receiving a scholarship from the ''Fine Arts Fund'' for several years, Otakar Slavík decided to make a living by manual labour in order to do without the inevitable artistic compromises with the
regime In politics, a regime (also spelled régime) is a system of government that determines access to public office, and the extent of power held by officials. The two broad categories of regimes are democratic and autocratic. A key similarity acros ...
. For five years he worked as a stagehand at the National Theatre. After his dismissal from the theatre, he was employed in a prefabrication plant, as a wagon unloader, a mover and in other physically demanding professions. From the time of his studies, he was friendly especially with Zdeněk Sýkora, the circle around Václav Bartovský and
Václav Boštík Václav Boštík (6 November 1913 – 7 May 2005) was a Czech painter, graphic artist and illustrator. Career In 1937, he joined the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Academy in Prague and from 1942, he was a member of the ''Umělecká besed ...
, but despite his lively nature, he remained isolated both privately and in his work. Classical music concerts played an important role in his life. His first solo exhibition was in 1964 in the Small Gallery of the Park of Culture. Since the exhibition at Mánes Gallery in 1966, he became the subject of professional interest in connection with the emerging New Figuration. In the second half of the 1960s, he established himself as a painter and draughtsman, in 1967 he acquired his own studio and from 1968 he was able to devote himself exclusively to his painting. He was represented at numerous exhibitions in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
and abroad. In 1968, he participated as a guest in the exhibitions of the ''Křižovatka group'', organized by Jiří Padrta under the title ''New sensitivity''. Slavík's second exhibition of paintings at the Václav Špála Gallery (1970), together with sculptures by
Karel Nepraš Karel Nepraš (2 April 1932 – 5 April 2002) was a Czech sculptor, draughtsman, graphic artist and professor at Prague Academy. Already in the 1960s, Nepraš became one of the most prominent Czech artists thanks to his ability to master new mate ...
, led to a rapprochement with artists around the ''Křižovnická School''. Eugen Brikcius, Ivan and Věra Jirous, Dana Němcová and the philosopher Ivan Dubský became his new and lifelong friends. Soon after the
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...
and the new consolidation of the
communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
, Otakar Slavík lost the opportunity to exhibit and returned to manual labour. In 1971, he took a job as a wagon driver for the newly established normalization ''Union of Czech Artists''. The choice of this job not only corresponded to Slavík's strength of character and independence, it was also, in its absurdity, in line with the poetics of the ''Křižovnická School''. The shameful situation of the 1970s led him to be one of the first to sign
Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...
. The following year he suffered a severe
myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
, which meant that it was impossible to continue to earn a living from manual labour. After signing
Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...
, he was expelled from the Artists' Fund and automatically lost his right to social security, the right to a studio and the option to buy paints from the Fund's shop, which was the only one in Prague that sold professional art supplies. In 1980 he emigrated with his wife to
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, where he was granted
political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...
. Otakar Slavík became a member of the art association
Vienna Künstlerhaus The Künstlerhaus in Vienna's 1st district has accommodated the Künstlerhaus Vereinigung since 1868. It is located in the Ringstrassenzone in between Akademiestraße, Bösendorferstraße and Musikvereinsplatz. The building was erected betwee ...
. Thanks to his wife's employment, for the first time in his life he had no financial worries and could devote himself to painting and his new-found great hobby, visiting galleries and museums. He made annual trips abroad to see art (London, Venice, Florence, Paris, Zurich, Madrid, Toledo). In 1985 he obtained Austrian
citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...
. In addition to
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, he has exhibited in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. In 1988 he participated in the ''Expressiv'' exhibition in Vienna, Washington and New York, organized by
Meda Mládková Marie Magdalena Františka "Meda" Mládková ( Sokolová, 8 September 1919 – 3 May 2022) was a Czech art collector. Her husband, (1911–1989), was an economist and a governor of the IMF. Having spent several years in exile, she returned to Cz ...
. In 1989 he suffered another
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
and had to undergo a very complicated heart operation. He returned to the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
with a large retrospective exhibition organized by the National and Central Bohemia Galleries in the premises of the Municipal Library in 1991. This was followed by exhibitions at Mánes Gallery, Bayer & Bayer Gallery, Prague Castle Ballroom, Via Art Gallery, Nová síň in Prague and in Kutná Hora. In 1992 he became a member of the Umělecká beseda. Slavík painted in Vienna and during his stays in Prague. His work was suddenly interrupted by his unexpected death in November 2010.


Awards

* 1987 Gold Medal of the Künstlerhaus Vienna * 1992 Irene und Peter Ludwig Preis * 1996 Prize of the Union of Visual Artists of the Czech Republic, Intersalon České Budějovice * 2001 Goldene Lorbeer des Künstlerhauses, Wien


Work


Painting

Slavík's development as a painter has a remarkable unity, coherence and logic, despite its significant changes and constant renewal. He depicts the figure or object as an impersonal shape, which he interprets by means of painting. The strength of this method lies in Slavík's extraordinary coloristic abilities, which enabled him to make from the figural composition at the same time a peculiar composition of colored surfaces, organized in intricately harmonious and discordant configurations.Valoch J, in: Otakar Slavík:: Drawings, 1991 The painter was influenced by his training in
ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...
s modelling in Bechyně and especially by sculpting in the
stone masonry Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...
school in Hořice, which deepened his figurative sensibility for lifetime. The theme of his figures is the general
existential Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value ...
situation of man, not any particular activity. Slavík's experience as a modeller and his fascination with painting are intertwined in them. The position or situation of the figure is from the beginning the result of a process in which paint enters the space of the painting and becomes a shape.Miler K, in: Otakar Slavík: Paintings and Drawings, 1991, p. 25 (Slavík: "I do not paint the figure, it must come into being during the process of painting.") The high pasty layers of colour are sometimes the result of overpainting and testify to his struggle for expression. He uses them to emphasize the saturation of the colouring and to add vibrancy. Beauty in his conception is not identical with grace or prettiness or the pursuit of a polished style. Even where a painting resembles a battlefield, it is the result of the elemental joy of painting. According to Věra Jirousová, Slavík evaluated the aesthetic principles of the European tradition with the austerity of a Central European, and in his work the will to order and self-discipline clashes with the chaos that breeds all living things. Slavík's first paintings were influenced by French painting, especially Bonnard and
Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...
. In Czech art he follows painters from the early 20th century, especially Jindřich Prucha, Jan Preisler and Bohumil Kubišta (''Portrait of Miss Ulčová'', 1955). The bitter confrontation of the romantic concept of art with the reality of Slavík's life as a stagehand gave rise to a series of ''flying ballerinas'', figures in spasmodic motion during a dive across the stage, along with another theme, the life of worn-out workers, stagehands and beer drinkers (''Flying Ballerina'', 1962, ''Stagehand'' 1958). The dark colouring points to existential experience and the loss of romantic illusions (''Man with a Beer'', 1964). The atmosphere of the painting ''Café in the Municipal House'' (1959), where Slavík retreated in between work, depicts the alienation of a lonely man. Around the mid-1960s, he abandoned his previous way of painting. The colours of some of his paintings are muted and the brush touches become isolated in the form of small spots of colour (''Standing'', 1964). In the second half of the 1960s, he composed his paintings mainly or exclusively from discs of colour, sometimes in the form of a regular grid (''Lying'', 1966). Slavík's work is not merely about the optical arrangement of spots of colour, as in Seurat's work, but by various treatments of colour he seeks to build order in the image, as Cézanne did. The painter consciously abandoned for a time the plasticity and depth of pictorial space and gave the coloured point a constructive role (Slavík: "The point, which is my starting point, is not only a building element, but also a certainty and freedom in its definition. Constructive tendencies are close to me"). Constructive tendencies affected many artists in the mid-1960s. The key word became anti-romanticism, associated with the suppression of subjectivity of expression and the purging of painting of illusions and symbols. The humanized geometry was signing on to the technical givens of civilization (called "second nature") and the new principles of painting were strict and precise, concrete, clear, factual illustrative and positive in relation to man. Otakar Slavík exhibits with the ''Křižovatka group'' and representatives of the ''New Sensibility'', but he remains a solitary artist who combines the most rigorous solutions with more traditional, but equally distinct approaches. He shared with a number of exhibitors an interest in the purely painterly qualities of the picture and the application of order in its composition, but his direction in terms of meaning was different and, like Alena Kučerová, he did not abandon figuration. The earliest abstracting shift, accompanied by the spatial isolation of artistic signs, is evident in the painting ''Dissection'', which mirrors the artist's authentic experience and subsequent contemplation (''Dissection'', 1967). File:01. Otakar Slavík, Baletka (2. pol. 50. let).jpg, Ballerina (2nd half of the 1950s) File:03. Otakar Slavík, Muž s pivem (1965).jpg, Man with the beer (1965) File:05. Otakar Slavík, Pitva (1967).jpg, Dissection (1967) File:07. Otakar Slavík, Modrý náramek (1968).jpg, Blue Bracelet (1968) File:10. Otakar Slavík, Cibule (konec 60. let).jpg, Onion (late 1960s) The change in Slavík's painting style coincides with the onset of
normalization Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...
. The rational construction of the painting, coupled with colour reductionism, became too cramped for him, and the figure, which had been an abstract subject, became a real figure carrying all the weight of life. Colour should continue to play a major role - to be an independent carrier of meaning, space and figure. Slavík himself defines his work as an attempt at a new colourism rather than a " new figuration". The experience of the carrying capacity of the coloured sign, in conjunction with real subjects transcribed into colour, valorises the figure in a monumental, already purely corporeal way. In the paintings of the late 1960s, the joy of painting is fully developed (''Lying'', 1970, ''Onion'', 1969). The patches of colour, and with them the figures, lose their contours (''Reclining figure'', 1970, 1972), sometimes disappearing completely (''Blue Study'', 1971, ''Sleeping'', 1973). Slavík's painting in this period ranges widely from hints of architectural order (''Interior II'', 1973) to free abstraction (''Fairy Tale,'' 1970–1971). In the first half of the 1970s, the dynamic element of swirling circles and subtle light vibrations appears first in drawings (1972) and later in paintings executed in contrasting vibrant colours of reds and yellows (''Composition'', 1975). Before the mid-1970s, the painter suffered a creative crisis and destroyed a number of paintings. The paintings of the second half of the 1970s already clearly demonstrate that Slavík makes use of colour as a self explanatory lyrical and expressive quality, to which he subordinates the composition of his paintings (''Burning Snow'', 1977, ''Bend Your Knees and Back'', 1979, ''Hunched Man'', 1979). After the signing of
Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...
,
StB State Security (, ), or StB / ŠtB, was the secret police force in communist Czechoslovakia from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990. Serving as an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, it dealt with any activity that was considered oppositio ...
harassment and a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
, new works were created - monumental apocalyptic landscapes and landscape themes inspired by trips to Šumava (''Unsuccessful Attempt to Cross the Border'', 1977–1979, ''Sunset'', 1978) and emotional parables of the human fate in the series of (
Tightrope Walker Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...
s), which Jirous categorizes as "imbosh art", the painting of hunted gameImbosh - The foam that comes from a mouth of hunted deer (''The Last Attempt to Cross the Border'', 1979, ''Tightrope Walker in the Air'', 1980). ''Hunched Man in the Air'' (1979) depicts a
hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
man. The titles of other works by Slavík from this period - ''The Tightrope Walker's Rest'', ''The Tightrope Walker in the Air'', ''The Tightrope Walker Before the Show'', ''The Penultimate Rest'' - are images of camouflaged death, which the painter himself commented on as a violent and contrived evasive manoeuvre before an inevitable catastrophe. An illustration of the painter's state of mind is a picture painted shortly after his arrival in Austria, with muddy colours that stretch like smudges (''Heimweh'', 1980). The dark tones persist until 1981 (''The Roaring Man''). Slavík continued his series of ''Tightrope walkers'', archaic figures whose earthly existence the painter reflects on, even in exile in Vienna. The figures are expressed in several coloured surfaces, rhythmized by colour contrasts, and the painter's sculptural foundations are increasingly apparent. Slavík's
expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
originated in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
and carries the existential burden he brought with him to
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
(''The Bent Tightrope Walker'', 1987). In the free conditions of his new home and a happy personal relationship, the calm and balanced composition of colour tones return to his paintings. The female figure became the central motif of Slavík's paintings. These paintings glow with fiery tones of red and yellow, azure blue, and light that both illuminates and bathes the bodies and floats over them like water. After the fall of the communist regime in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, Slavík presented his work at exhibitions in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
and
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
. After a retrospective exhibition at the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...
in 1991, further monumental works were created in which the painter explored the possibilities of colour to no end (''Discomfort I'', 1995). For the painter, the laying down of paint is an emotional process, expressing intensity, seriousness and very often also irony. Flickering, quivering brush strokes, heavy pastes, optical raster, hatching, and paper gluing serve as expressive and constructional devices tied to painting. Slavík often returns to older paintings, which he subjects to painstaking and usually devastating interventions. For him, the process of painting is primary, not the result. His work is increasingly painstaking; the painter does not speculate on his abilities or rely on what he has achieved. According to the painter, "there are no finished paintings, only paintings deferred." Therefore, there are photographs of even several successive versions of a single painting in which a figure falls into space and emerges from it again. Apart from a series of head studies from the second half of the 1990s (''Duňa'', ''Vally'', ''Zmatlík'', ''Eugen in roses'', ''Fright'', 1996–1997), landscape and purely spatial compositions (''Head'', 2005, ''View from the Window'', 2006) are appearing with increasing frequency. The paintings of the last few years seem to have emphasised even more sharply the painter's struggle with the image, the struggle between the subject - the object of the painting - and its background, which is becoming increasingly important. The reflective colours thematise joy, radiance and brightness, the torsos of the reclining girls are lost in thickets of colour, left to natural processes (''Reclining Girl I-IV'', 2008). File:12. Otakar Slavík, Ohni kolena a hřbet (1976-78).jpg, Bend Your Knees and Back (1976–78) File:16. Otakar Slavík, Západ slunce (1978).jpg, Sunset (1978) File:17. Otakar Slavík, Nix wie weg z provazu a vůbec (1983-84).jpg, Nix wie weg from rope and in general (1983–84) File:18. Otakar Slavík, Sehnutý provazolezec (1983-87).jpg, The Bent Tightrope Walker (1983–87) File:19. Otakar Slavík, Toskánský deník II (1986-1987).jpg, Tuscan Diary II (1986–1987) File:21. Otakar Slavík, Kráčející muž (1988-89).jpg, Walking Man (1988–89) File:22. Otakar Slavík, Nepohoda I (1989).jpg, Bad Weather I (1989) File:25. Otakar Slavík, Pohled z okna (2006).jpg, View from the Window (2006) File:Otakar Slavík, Červená studie, 2000-2006.jpg, Red study 2000-2006 File:Otakar Slavík, diptych Ležící dívka II (2008).jpg, diptych Reclining Girl II (2008)


Drawings and prints

Drawing accompanies Slavík's painting periodically and is always related to an interest in a new problem and the search for a new solution. A series of large pencil drawings of male heads (''Head'', 1968) was exhibited in Slavík's first exhibition at the Václav Špála Gallery curated by
Jindřich Chalupecký Jindřich is Czech form of the English name Henry. People with the given name include: * Jindřich Bačkovský (1912–2000), Czech physicist *Jindřich Balcar (1950–2013), Czechoslovak ski jumper who competed from 1974 to 1976 * Jindřich Chmela ...
in 1968, and a series of 12 colour silkscreen prints of the ''Roaring Man'' in another exhibition in 1970. It was not until around 1974 that a collection of geometric, completely non-objective drawings followed, where figuration is replaced by the autonomy of lines and their volumes (''Drawing'', 1974). A series of figurative drawings from the 1980s, more like outlines and hints of figures drawn in pastel, often in combination with other techniques, were made alongside the paintings. Slavík attended nude drawing courses in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
for almost twenty years. He is not at all shy about relearning the basics together with amateurs, so that he can, out of genuine personal necessity, invent, bring the past into the present, transform tradition into novelty. This is how a series of spontaneous snapshots and a series of illustrations of
tightrope walker Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...
s for the French magazine ''La Nouvelle Alternative'' came about. (1990-1998). The drawings of human heads from the 1980s, often larger than life, are reduced to a few characteristics or are analogous to figural forms. From a trip to
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
taken by Duňa and Otakar Slavík and Ivan Binar with his wife, they compiled a joint illustrated diary (1986-1987).


Bibliography

* Otakar Slavík, Malířské smetí (deníkové záznamy) / Painting rubbish (diary entries), 415 p., Nakladatelství Pulchra, Praha 2018, ISBN 978-80-7564-032-1


Representation in collections

* National Gallery in Prague * Gallery of the City of Prague * Museum Kampa * Czech Museum of Fine Arts, Prague (now GASK) * Benedikt Rejt Gallery, Louny * North Bohemia Art Gallery in Litoměřice * Gallery of Modern Art in Roudnice nad Labem * Art Gallery Karlovy Vary * Museum of Art Olomouc * Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava * Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín * Alš South Bohemia Gallery in Hluboká nad Vltavou * East Bohemia Gallery in Pardubice * Gallery of Modern Art in Hradec Králové * Regional Gallery in Liberec * Gallery of Fine Arts in Cheb * Regional Gallery of the Highlands in Jihlava * Gallery Klatovy / Klenová * Golden Goose Gallery * Art Institute of Chicago * Fond National d'Art Contemporain Paris * Kunstforum Norrköping * Kunstsammlung Chemnitz * Galerie kulturnog centra, Beograd * Stuka Museum, Lodz * Wirtschaftskammer Innsbruck * Private collections at home and abroad


Exhibitions

* 1964 Otakar Slavik: Paintings and Drawings, Small Gallery Lapidarium, Prague * 1966 Otakar Slavík, Gallery of Youth, Mánes, Prague * 1967/1968 Otakar Slavík, Václav Špála Gallery, Prague * 1969 Otakar Slavik: Paintings 1962 - 1968, Letohrádek Ostrov * 1970 Otakar Slavík: Paintings of Women, Benedikt Rejt Gallery, Louny * 1970 Otakar Slavík: Paintings, Václav Špála Gallery, Prague * 1975 Otakar Slavík, Minigallery VUVL, Brno * 1983 Otakar Slavík, Galerie Kraus, Pffäfikon, Switzerland * 1984 Otakar Slavik, Galerie Schröder, Mönchengladbach * 1984 Otakar Slavik: Le funambule de prague, Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail * 1985 Otakar Slavik, Galerie Ekymose, Bordeaux * 1985 Otakar Slavik, Galerie Asperger Bischoff, Chicago * 1987 Otakar Slavík, Galerie Wolf, Düsseldorf * 1987 Otakar Slavík: Zeichnungen, Kinogalerie des Künstlerhauses, Vienna * 1989 Otakar Slavik: Malerei, St. Peter an der Sperr, Vienna * 1989 Otakar Slavik, French Cultural Institute, Vienna * 1991 Otakar Slavik: Drawings, Na bidýlku Gallery, Brno * 1991/1992 Otakar Slavik: Paintings and Drawings, National Gallery and City Library, Prague * 1992 Otakar Slavík, Galerie Irus et Vincent Hansma, Paris * 1993/1994 Otakar Slavík: Paintings, Künstlerhaus Wien, Vienna * 1997 Otakar Slavík: Paintings, Mánes, Prague * 1999 Otakar Slavík: Praise of the Tower, Bayer & Bayer Gallery, Mostecká 16, Prague * 2001 Otakar Slavík: Paintings, Prague Castle Ballroom, Prague * 2002 Otakar Slavík, Exhibition Hall Sokolská 26, Ostrava * 2003 Otakar Slavík: Women, Via Art Gallery, Prague * 2003 Otakar Slavík: Paintings from Vienna, Sankturin House, Kutná Hora * 2003/2004 Otakar Slavík: Paintings, Objects, Galerie kai de kai, Prague * 2005 Otakar Slavík: Kočka v křesle / Cat in the Armchair, Gallery Via Art, Praha * 2007 Slavík 75, Nová síň Gallery, Prague * 2009 Otakar Slavík: Returns, Topičův salon (2007-) Prague * 2010 Otakar Slavík: Babí léto, Via Art Gallery, Prague * 2010 Otakar Slavík: Paint for Life, Gallery of Modern Art in Roudnice nad Labem, * 2012 Otakar Slavík: Dvě dominanty 60/80 / Two Dominants, Museum Kampa, Prague * 2014/2015 Otakar Slavík: Nudes, Czech Centre Vienna Archived July 2, 2017 at the Wayback Machine * Collective exhibitions - see abARTInformation system abART: Slavík Otakar, Collective exhibitions
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References


Notes


Sources


Catalogues

* ''Otakar Slavík'', Padrta Jiri, cat. 4 p., SČVU Prague 1966 * ''Otakar Slavík: Paintings 1962 - 1968'', Kříž Jan, cat. 24 p., Letohrádek Ostrov 1969 * ''Otakar Slavík'', Miler Karel, cat. 12 p., SČVU Praha 1970 * ''Otakar Slavík: Paintings of Women 1969'', Sekera Jan, cat. 8 p., Benedikt Rejt Gallery, Louny 1970 * ''Otakar Slavík'', Valoch Jiří, 2 pages in cover, Minigallery VÚVL Brno 1975 * ''Otakar Slavík:: Zur malerei von Otakar Slavik'', Felix Zdeněk, cat. 12 p., Galerie Schröder, Mönchengladbach 1984 * ''Otakar Slavík:: Le funambule de prague'', Bartošek Karel, Delatour Jeanne, cat. 10 p., Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail 1984 * ''Otakar Slavík:: Gemälde'', Baleka Jan, cat. 24 p., Galerie Wolf, Düsseldorf 1986 * ''Otakar Slavík:: Drawings'', Valoch Jiří, 6 sheets, Galerie Na bidýlku, Brno 1991 * ''Otakar Slavík: Paintings and Drawings'', Miler Karel, Slavík Otakar, Zemina Jaromír, cat. 40 p., National Gallery in Prague 1991, ISBN 80-7035-031-8 * ''Otakar Slavík: Paintings'', Čiháková-Noshiro Vlasta, cat. 20 p., Mánes, Prague 1997 * ''Otakar Slavík: Obrazy / Paintings'', Brikcius Eugen et al., cat. 36 p., Prague Castle Administration 2001 * ''Otakar Slavík: Paintings from Vienna'', Jirousová Věra, cat. 12 p., Felix Jenewein Gallery of Kutná Hora 2003 * ''Otakar Slavík: Paintings'', cat. 6 p., Nová síň Gallery, Prague 2007 * ''Otakar Slavík: Returns'', Rous Jan, cat. 16 p., Topičova salonu Society, Prague 2009 * ''Otakar Slavík: Paint for Life'', Potůčková Alena, Slavíková Duňa, cat. 24 p., Gallery of Modern Art in Roudnice nad Labem 2010 * ''Otakar Slavík: Babí léto'', Freisleben Zdeněk, cat. 6 p., Via Art Gallery, Prague 2010 * ''Otakar Slavík: The Joy of Painting'', Jan Rous, cat. 23 p., Gallery of Modern Art in Roudnice nad Labem 2018, ISBN 978-80-87605-16-5 * ''Otakar Slavík: Looking Back'', Jan Samec, Zdenka Čepeláková, Duňa Slavíková, cat. 59 p., Gallery of Art Karlovy Vary 2019, ISBN 978-80-88319-01-6


Monographs

* Jan Rous (ed.), Otakar Slavík, 272 p., Gallery (Jaroslav Kořán) Prague 2009, ISBN 978-80-86990-69-9


Other

* Luděk Novák, Nová figurace / New figuration, 53 p., Obelisk Prague 1970 * Geneviève Bénamou, Sensibilités contemporaines / Contemporary artistic sensibilities, 297 p., Paris 1985 * Čiháková-Noshiro Vlasta et al., New Sensibility, 148 p., Oswald Publishing House, Prague 1994 * Brikcius Eugen et al., Karel Nepraš and friends, 79 p., Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín, p. o. 2007 * Mgr. Tereza Sládečková, The Phenomenon of New Sensitivity in Czech Art of the 1960s, diploma thesis, KTF, UDKU Prague 2009 On line


External links


Otakar Slavík in the abART information system

List of works by or about Otakar Slavík in the Complete Catalogue of the Czech Republic

Josef Vomáčka - Review: Otakar Slavik / Paint for Life, Czech TV, 2010

INFINITE IMAGE, Otakar Slavík - interview with Radan Wagner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slavík Otakar 20th-century Czech painters 20th-century Czech printmakers 1931 births 2010 deaths Academic staff of Charles University