Zbynek Sekal and his magical secrecy

A HIGHLIGHT OF THE AUTUMN PROGRAM: ZBYNEK SEKAL AND HIS MAGICAL SECRECY!

In his native country, the Czech Republic, Zbyněk Sekal has long been regarded as a star. His Viennese artist’s studio was reproduced in the National Gallery in Prague, where a permanent installation now shows the various phases of his oeuvre.

Subsequently, his work was presented in three great museum exhibitions in the past two years: in the Gallery of West Bohemia in Pilsen, in the Olomouc Museum of Art, where more than 300 objects were shown, and in the Aleš South Bohemian Gallery’s exhibition space in Hluboká Castle.

Sekal lived in Vienna from 1970 until his death in 1998. Even so, he has been somewhat forgotten in Austria, despite the fact that the famous art critic Kristian Sotriffer, who held him in high esteem, delivered the eulogy at the artist’s funeral. Until recently, the Museum Liaunig in Neuhaus/Suha has been the only Austrian art institution to pay tribute to Sekal, presenting twelve of his works in its current annual exhibition.

But since September 30, 2016, his work can finally also be seen in Vienna again. Giulio Camagni, a young Italian artist based in Vienna, and Gustavo Mendez-Liska from Venezuela saw Sekal’s work at the last exhibition in Vienna’s artmark gallery and fell in love with it. Just like Sekal, Camagni works with very simple materials (e.g. ash pigments in his paintings) and both artists, again just like Sekal, use found objects in their works. They decided, therefore, to honor the late Czech artist with an homage.

Visitors will be astonished by the close spiritual connection between the two young artists and the “old master.” A truly exciting, high-class exhibition!