Adam Kašpar (1993)
Adam Kašpar is one of the most interesting representatives of contemporary Czech realistic painting. Due to his great talent for capturing the atmosphere of the untouched nature of deep forests and primeval forests, he is often associated with the founders of Czech landscape painting, especially with Julius Mařák. In his work, he deals with the ancient origin of nature as well as its extinction. The life of a landscape fascinates him as a complex phenomenon. He is interested not only in the existence of plants, but also in the existence of inorganic natural materials, such as rocks, stones, and, in the latest cycle, space objects. As early as during his studies at the Prague Academy, he attracted the attention of a number of collectors and curators, not only because of his unceasing interest in landscapes, which led him from the deep primeval forests through the Mongolian steppes to the Icelandic glaciers, but especially for his conceptual and almost scientific methods. He uses not only painting and drawing tools, but also contemporary techniques that act as an extension of the human eye: for example, a camera, a telescope to observe distant celestial bodies, and a microscope to study rocks. His sketchbooks are full of notes on the sedimentation of rocks, excerpts from geology textbooks, maps, ideas of what the landscape looked like before the intervention of the human hand, and even own experiences of spending time in nature. Unlike the romantic landscape paintings of the 19th century, Kašpar’s works give the impression of almost archaeological research into the life of the planet Earth, and his plein air paintings are often an exploration of the nature “archive” rather than an attempt to capture specific details. The selection of Kašpar’s subject-matters is dominated by the landscape without any indication of human existence. In the current climate crisis, this could be thought of as an idyllic attempt to go back to the rise of civilisation. In his work, however, one can also find paintings of the North Bohemian Basin and other places deeply affected by human existence, although they do not look so at first glance. Rather than as pre-humanistic, we should perceive Adam Kašpar’s work as post-humanistic and understanding, and thus emphasising the age of the Anthropocene as a philosophical phenomenon (geochronologically it is not possible to confirm yet). Although he is described as a realistic painter, he often paints beyond the realms of reality and composes the landscape of several different perspectives to accentuate a geopolitical problem, or to transform it into what it would look like without human intervention, or rather hundreds of years after natural remediation of human intervention. His works are represented in both major Czech and foreign collections of contemporary art and have been exhibited at a number of interesting and important exhibitions. Among others, for example, the exhibition Light in Painting: Czech Impressionism (2017, Prague Castle Riding School), where they were presented alongside such artists as Antonín Slavíček, Max Švabinský, Eugène-Louis Boudin, and Claude Monet.
Selected exhibitions:
Universum, Ludvík Kuba Gallery, Poděbrady, CZE, 2021
Down the Roof and Furrow, Josef Jambor Gallery, Tišnov, CZE, 2019
Map of the Mountains [Mapa hor], Nová galerie, Prague, CZE, 2018
Earth, Basel Art Centre, Basel, CHE, 2018
Just Space [Jen prostor], GAMPA / City Gallery Pardubice, Pardubice, CZE, 2018
Light in Painting: Czech Impressionism (collective exhibition), Prague Castle Riding School, Prague, CZE, 2017
Fascination with Reality (collective exhibition), Olomouc Museum of Art, Olomouc, CZE, 2017
Adam Kašpar is one of the most interesting representatives of contemporary Czech realistic painting. Due to his great talent for capturing the atmosphere of the untouched nature of deep forests and primeval forests, he is often associated with the founders of Czech landscape painting, especially with Julius Mařák. In his work, he deals with the ancient origin of nature as well as its extinction. The life of a landscape fascinates him as a complex phenomenon. He is interested not only in the existence of plants, but also in the existence of inorganic natural materials, such as rocks, stones, and, in the latest cycle, space objects. As early as during his studies at the Prague Academy, he attracted the attention of a number of collectors and curators, not only because of his unceasing interest in landscapes, which led him from the deep primeval forests through the Mongolian steppes to the Icelandic glaciers, but especially for his conceptual and almost scientific methods. He uses not only painting and drawing tools, but also contemporary techniques that act as an extension of the human eye: for example, a camera, a telescope to observe distant celestial bodies, and a microscope to study rocks. His sketchbooks are full of notes on the sedimentation of rocks, excerpts from geology textbooks, maps, ideas of what the landscape looked like before the intervention of the human hand, and even own experiences of spending time in nature. Unlike the romantic landscape paintings of the 19th century, Kašpar’s works give the impression of almost archaeological research into the life of the planet Earth, and his plein air paintings are often an exploration of the nature “archive” rather than an attempt to capture specific details. The selection of Kašpar’s subject-matters is dominated by the landscape without any indication of human existence. In the current climate crisis, this could be thought of as an idyllic attempt to go back to the rise of civilisation. In his work, however, one can also find paintings of the North Bohemian Basin and other places deeply affected by human existence, although they do not look so at first glance. Rather than as pre-humanistic, we should perceive Adam Kašpar’s work as post-humanistic and understanding, and thus emphasising the age of the Anthropocene as a philosophical phenomenon (geochronologically it is not possible to confirm yet). Although he is described as a realistic painter, he often paints beyond the realms of reality and composes the landscape of several different perspectives to accentuate a geopolitical problem, or to transform it into what it would look like without human intervention, or rather hundreds of years after natural remediation of human intervention. His works are represented in both major Czech and foreign collections of contemporary art and have been exhibited at a number of interesting and important exhibitions. Among others, for example, the exhibition Light in Painting: Czech Impressionism (2017, Prague Castle Riding School), where they were presented alongside such artists as Antonín Slavíček, Max Švabinský, Eugène-Louis Boudin, and Claude Monet.
Selected exhibitions:
Universum, Ludvík Kuba Gallery, Poděbrady, CZE, 2021
Down the Roof and Furrow, Josef Jambor Gallery, Tišnov, CZE, 2019
Map of the Mountains [Mapa hor], Nová galerie, Prague, CZE, 2018
Earth, Basel Art Centre, Basel, CHE, 2018
Just Space [Jen prostor], GAMPA / City Gallery Pardubice, Pardubice, CZE, 2018
Light in Painting: Czech Impressionism (collective exhibition), Prague Castle Riding School, Prague, CZE, 2017
Fascination with Reality (collective exhibition), Olomouc Museum of Art, Olomouc, CZE, 2017
Evening on the Aiarnola Mountain
2022
oil on canvas
90 × 140 cm
ARTIST'S RECORD SALE
sold at 88th Auction of KODL Gallery
Jökulsárlón III
Jökulsárlón II
Rock Wall in Neurur
Zadní Hutisko Nature Reserve
2017
oil on canvas
signed lower left
160 × 130 cm
Summer Art Salon 2022
sold
Sphagnum
Porphyroid Rock and Green Slate by Huntava Rivulet
2018
oil on canvas
signed lower left
160 × 130 cm
Summer Art Salon 2022
sold
North Bohemian Basin2020
oil on canvas
signed on the reverse
90 × 140 cm
sold at 87th Auction of KODL Gallery
Kodl Contemporary
Národní 7, 110 00 Prague 1
Openig Hours Mo–Fri 10:00–18:00
Národní 7, 110 00 Prague 1
Openig Hours Mo–Fri 10:00–18:00