Untitled

Rare and utterly unique on the market, this is a canvas from the culminating period of the distinctive and solitary figure of Jan Křížek, a Czech sculptor and painter who spent most of his artistic life in France. At first glance, the expressive and spontaneous scene is a thoughtful and intentionally primitive composition, which introduces the characteristic artistic language Křížek evolved outside the main current of painting. After emigrating to France in 1947, he became part of the Paris art scene, where he grew close to Jean Dubuffet, Michel Tapié and other artists who struggled for art’s emancipation from aesthetic norms and academic conventions. Even though he never allowed himself to be fully absorbed by any movement, we find in his work echoes of Surrealism, Art Informel and especially art brut, as defined and promoted in French avant-garde art of the 1950s by Jean Dubuffet. The figures and shapes in the painting are reduced to simple signs, which evoke ancient engravings, cave paintings or children’s drawings. The painting represents an intuitive, archetypal, and deeply personal approach, which was typical for the whole of Křížek’s work, not only in painting and drawing, but also in reliefs, sculpture, and ceramics. In the late 1950s, the author began to experiment and create oil paintings, in which he depicted humans without any individualisation, outside of history and time. The Italian critic Luigi Carluccio described the specific character of his work: “Through basic shapes and figures, Křížek expresses a primitivism that combines intellectual and folk elements” (L. Carluccio, introduction to an exhibition in Rome, Notizario 12, 1959). The artist thus aligned himself with the idea of returning to an artistic expression “untainted by civilisation.” His artistic work drew on interior experience and a longing for an expression freed from cultural and political limitations. Indeed, the desire for a spiritual experience in art brought him closer to the artist Václav Boštík, who Křížek regularly visited in France. The value of the work is increased by its exhibition in Paris at the prestigious Galerie Craven (Krizek, sculptures et peintures, Galerie Craven, Paris, 30 May – 19 June 1958, cat. no. 89). This solo exhibition was an important event and led to international interest, because the painting was subsequently presented in Italy as part of an exhibition touring to Turin, Rome, Bologna, and Viareggio (Dubuis, Franquinet, Kolos-Vary, Krizek, Manera, Selim, Galleria d’arte La Bussola, Turin, 14 – 23 February 1959; Sei giovani pittori della scuola di Parigi, La Medusa studio d'arte contemporanea, Rome, March 1959; I sei della galleria Craven: Dubuis, Franquinet, Kolos-Vary, Krizek, Manera, Selim, Galleria des Libraio, Bologna, 12 – 22 April 1959; Dubuis, Franquinet, Kolozsvary, Krizek, Manera, Selim, Galleria d'arte La Navicella, Viareggio, 17 – 31 May 1959). Unfortunately, the author himself later destroyed most of the works exhibited in Galerie Craven and only a fraction of them has been preserved. The listed work was purchased by the original owner’s family at the exhibition in Turin and so escaped destruction. It thus bears rare witness to the work of one of the most interesting Czech artists in exile. Assessed in consultation with Prof. J. Zemina and PhDr. J. Machalický. The expert opinion of PhDr. K. Srp is attached: “[...]  If one were to identify a painting by Jan Křížek that encapsulates his entire Parisian stay, this particular work could definitively be named as the summation of his time there, created before he temporarily ceased his artistic activity in 1962 and moved away from Paris. [...] The painting is also important from the perspective of Křížek’s own artistic evolution. It was exhibited at his first solo exhibition at Galerie Craven (1958), which had a significant response. If we were to assess this painting by the standards of the development of European painting in the 1950s, it would occupy an important position, entirely comparable to other artists who are in far greater favour today. [...].”