Richard Konvička was born on April 30, 1957, in Prague – Died, 6 August 2021. 1973 to 1977, he studied at the Secondary School of Fine Arts in Prague and later at the Academy of Fine Arts (AVU) in Prague under the guidance of Professor Jan Smetana (1977-1983).
In 1990, he received a grant from The
Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc., New York, to study abroad for half
a year. Since 1997 he has been a member of Umělecká beseda arts
association."Richard Konvička's work was and
is up-to-date and is not easy to understand. He has his informed
interprets (e.g. Richard Drury, Ivan Neumann), who have written the
most important about it. Probably, even I can join them. Every new
attempt at his ”portrait“ cannot avoid once already written. The
author paints and also destructs. This seemingly ironic expression
gives a true picture of the art program his work, points out the
essential expressionistic and content components of his paintings,
where sensuality softens (disturbs?, corrects?) the mind. Konvička´s
art is stormy, stimulates, provokes; but it is also kind and
especially human to be always contemporary in all these levels.His
art attacks human senses and provides also testimony about his own
turbulent spirit, which is too open for the surrounding world.
Richard Konvička belongs to a relatively small group of artists, who
are not afraid to get down searching for the new ways of art
expression. It is historically nothing new that many soon used all
the optimism of their Prometheus energy and integrated into the
”middle“ classic stream in art. Others have fallen through the
professional routine and became uncreative epigones of their idols.
Only a few remained and focused their attention on the search in
themselves, with their own eyes, opinions and life. From their family
comes also Richard Konvička, direct by nature, lustily tempered,
robust (by art, not by his fi gure) painter. "(richardkonvicka.cz)
More works on the website devoted to avant-garde art
1 comment:
I am always wondering why the genius Richard Konvička didn't receive the global recognition he so deserved.
If Basquiat was the US representative of neo-expressionism with a strong African influence, surely Konvička could in some ways be regarded as his European doppelgänger? His works are equally universal, showing the humanity, love and all things beautiful in one contrasting vision with the harsh realities of daily life, using seemingly meaningless objects like scissors, cork screws and telephones.
I was fortunate enough to meet Richard in the autumn of 2018 in his studio in Prague, where he calmly explained his way of creating art, seemingly random and wild, but in reality with a huge eye for detail and even painstakingly slow, where a line, a symbol or colour would sometimes have to wait for a full night or day before they were committed to the canvas by their creator.
Richard was a kind man, soft spoken, modest, almost shy, but thoroughly human with a razor sharp look at life and its constant barrage of contradictions.
I happen to be the proud owner of some of his works, where no day passes by without having a quick glance at them, knowing that I met a true artist, who was able to portray the complexity of life in all its beauty and struggles. In a way, he helped to make more sense of it all and, as a result, I believe I became more a more thoughtful and a more grateful person.
For which I thank you, Richard. May you rest in peace.
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