– Face to face with Czech post-modern artist
By Alice Li Yuan
Prague-February 9-IJS-Global– In this cold, snowy season in Prague, everything seemed strangely tranquil and peaceful. The appearance of Jiří Votruba in Cibulky, the countryside of the city, proved that this is not a remote locality, but an inspiring place – a place that grows art. His personal studio is right there, about 40 square meters, not very spacious, but it’s where he spends most of his time. This simple and small room is filled with many one-man-tall colorful paintings of various figures. It is the latest series called Global People–the people he knows around the world—a Czech doctor couple, a Japanese friend, an Egyptian woman he met in Paris…This 63-year-old man is still working with full of passion.
On the way in his car to his house, which was about a 10-minute drive from his studio, he said because of financial crisis, some of his work has been cancelled. “But sometimes I think it’s important for people, especially for the western society — too much consumption. It’s not possible to carry on like this. People have to look into mirror and think,” said he, while a piece of soothing music in the disc was playing along side.
It’s not hard to imagine what it should look like for an artist’s home, but still, it’s surprising to see big paintings on the wall, which are very impressive – a gay dancer sitting on the floor holding his high-heel shoes with hands or a denim painting on which a lady wearing bikini standing on the beach. The house is full of his love for painting. Sitting in front of his huge flower painting work, Votruba said he began doing this since 18 years old. After he graduated from faculty of architecture in university, he kept painting as he was working in an architecture research institute. Slowly, this original hobby became his most important occupation until now. “Art for me is looking for beauty,” he said. And he is still on his way to this destination. He now calls himself as a post-modern artist, as he expresses his strong feelings in the paintings. “Everything is mixed. Art is not anymore like ‘isms’. You can get anything you want.”
If you have seen his works by any chance, you may find he adores bright, vivid color. “I like colorful life. Beautiful colors are always very positive for people’s thinking, and I think it’s due to my family where I was grown up. There has been always a lot of fun, funny atmosphere, very optimistic. I have this optimistic feeling from my childhood,” he said. “Each human being is looking for beauty in his life, so I think I’m doing the same. This is my way of expression.” Having his own exhibition since 1983, Votruba’s paintings have been presented at almost 50 exhibitions in 14 countries around the world, mostly in Europe and also in Japan. “One series before these figures, it’s called ‘Too Much Love’. It’s a kind of messy paintings with many small things, pop icons and symbols and so on. It’s about the love the consumption gave us…But in fact I’m laughing at this kind of love — artificial love,” he said.
As a man gone through the regime changing from communism to capitalism, Votruba also reflects the society evolution in his paintings. “When we are in the communist regime, some 19 years ago, I made painting when I was looking for the nature. I was doing grey houses with the opening, and at the end with shiny nature. It was lack of freedom. And I was looking for the freedom in the nature, but since then, it has changed…My last paintings are kind of pop art. It’s because since 1989, the regime changing to capitalism. Capitalism brought consumption. Suddenly you feel the totality of money, and pop art is a method to laugh at this pop culture and mass consumption. So the last series like ‘Swimming Pools’ or others mostly react to this life in consumption, because every thing is very shiny, very beautiful,” he explained. “Consumer society is attractive, but I don’t like it. I’m criticizing it. For instance, this painting [pointing to the huge flower painting behind him] was inspired when I was in Madagascar, very poor country. They go out wrapped with clothes, with this flower patterns. This is exactly taken from the textiles of these people. They still find the beauty in the nature, but we are finding the beauty in brands.”
Being a painter as well as an illustrator and graphic designer, Votruba is quite satisfied with his today’s success. He does illustrations of literature for kids and makes graphical designs of historical Prague for tourists to understand the charm of the city. “I live all my life in this city and I always loved it very much…I know the city very well, and it was my goal to show the important architecture items by a very easy way to the visitors. It’s kind of advertisement.” And it did work. His designs are very attractive for tourists, and the lovely city is fully represented on his postcards.
Maybe one day you will also happen to see those postcards in a souvenir shop, and then find your unforgettable memory for the city.
