Prodigy

Adam Štech’s painting style can be situated within the broader context of so-called neo-modern painting, which is based on engaging with individual historical modernist styles and updating them within the framework of contemporary art. Štech studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, first in Jiří Sopko’s painting studio and later under Vladimír Skrepl. He moves with ease between cubism, expressionism, surrealism, and New Objectivity, and by combining these styles and placing them in unexpected contexts, he creates a distinctive visual language in which historical movements meet the visual experience of the present. Using the language of historical modernism, for example, he depicts famous contemporary figures - Czech presidents and foreign celebrities such as David Lynch, Elon Musk, and Kurt Cobain - as well as himself and his circle of friends. In addition to painting, Štech also creates sculptural busts, and his cubistic bust of Václav Havel has become particularly well-known. The work of Pablo Picasso - in both its cubist and its neoclassical forms - remains a significant and constant source of inspiration for Štech’s artistic expression. The painting Prodigy also draws on this influence, building on Picasso’s classical figural stylization. The motif of a mother and child is one of the most enduring themes in the history of art, closely tied, above all, to the iconographic pattern of the Madonna and child. Štech, however, transposes it into a contemporary, mundane context: He frames the traditional intimacy of the maternal scene in a beach setting and updates it with the detail of a smartphone in the child’s hand. The result is a painting that combines a timeless motif with a subtle yet clearly legible reflection on today’s visual culture.

70 % of the hammer price is allocated to support the non-profit foundation  Spolu s odvahou, a member of the Bátor Tábor family.