Josef Bolf (1971)
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The work of Josef Bolf, one of the key figures of contemporary Czech art, is characterised by a fragile combination of obsession, vulnerability, and sensuality. His paintings reflect his early experience with the stylisation of comics as well as his subsequent mastery of the technique of scratched-through Indian ink on a layer of wax. In his works, Bolf returns to the period of his childhood, which he persuasively confronts with harsh reality. Figures depicted against background of a dehumanised city and confronted by the feelings of loneliness, failure, and death, as well as the relationship between man and his environment in general, are the predominant subject-matters of his works.
Selected exhibitions:
A Premonition of Shadow, National Gallery in Prague, CZE, 2019–2020
Summer Art Salon, KODL Gallery, Prague, CZE, 2017
Forlorn Martyrs Pull A Mirror From The Abyss, Galerie Dukan, Leipzig, DE, 2014
Places to Forget, Arthobler Gallery, Zürich, CH, 2013
Josef Bolf, Arthobler Gallery, Porto, PT, 2011
The Wolf, Ana Cristea Gallery, New York, N. Y., US, 2010
Great Expectations, ZAK Gallery, Berlin, DE, 2008
Death Is Not the End?, Moravian Gallery in Brno, CEZ, 2006
The work of Josef Bolf, one of the key figures of contemporary Czech art, is characterised by a fragile combination of obsession, vulnerability, and sensuality. His paintings reflect his early experience with the stylisation of comics as well as his subsequent mastery of the technique of scratched-through Indian ink on a layer of wax. In his works, Bolf returns to the period of his childhood, which he persuasively confronts with harsh reality. Figures depicted against background of a dehumanised city and confronted by the feelings of loneliness, failure, and death, as well as the relationship between man and his environment in general, are the predominant subject-matters of his works.
Selected exhibitions:
A Premonition of Shadow, National Gallery in Prague, CZE, 2019–2020
Summer Art Salon, KODL Gallery, Prague, CZE, 2017
Forlorn Martyrs Pull A Mirror From The Abyss, Galerie Dukan, Leipzig, DE, 2014
Places to Forget, Arthobler Gallery, Zürich, CH, 2013
Josef Bolf, Arthobler Gallery, Porto, PT, 2011
The Wolf, Ana Cristea Gallery, New York, N. Y., US, 2010
Great Expectations, ZAK Gallery, Berlin, DE, 2008
Death Is Not the End?, Moravian Gallery in Brno, CEZ, 2006
Head in the Clouds 2017–2023
watercolor on paper laid down on canvas
61 × 86 cm
sold at 89th KODL Gallery Auction
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