Lot 70
Oldřich Kulhánek (1940-2013)
Lot 70 Details
Oldřich Kulhánek (1940-2013), Czech
ČERNÁ HODINKA (BLACK WATCH), ALSO KNOWN AS "VIRGIL", 1967; I VY NAPLŇTE MÍRU OTCŮ SVÝCH (YOU TOO CAN FULFILL THE PEACE OF YOUR FATHERS, FROM "PROHIBITA", 1968
Two etchings:
The first: etching in black ink; signed, titled ‘Virgil," dated 1967 and numbered 19/20 in pencil to margin;
The second: etching in black ink; signed, titled and inscribed, dated 1968 and numbered 14/25 in pencil to margin
Plate 12.4 ins x 8.9 ins; 31.5 cms x 22.5 cms; 12 ins x 19.5 ins; 30.5 cms x 49.5 cms
Estimate $600-$800
Additional Images
Provenance:
The Fine Art Galleries, The T. Eaton Co. Limited, Canada, as "Virgil," Stock No. 20933 gallery label verso;
Collection of Paul Duval, Toronto
Note:
Born in Prague, Oldřich Kulhánek, graduated from the Prague Academy of Applied Arts in 1964 from the atelier of Professor Karol Svolinsky. After a brief imprisonment in 1971, he was banned from exhibiting in his home country. He was prominent amongst the artistic dissidents in the Communist Era. He was President of the Hollar Society of Czech Graphic Artists and was renowned for his extraordinary command of the human figure.
Between 1967 and 1969, Oldřich Kulhánek created a series of politically themed etchings. Formatted in a pop-art comic book form, the artist depicts either faces and figures of beautiful girls, the faces of bureaucrats and politicians, body fragments or portraits of representatives of the then socialist country.