František Skála is one of the outstanding personalities of the contemporary Czech art scene - his work is located between sculpture, painting, illustration, graphics, dance and music.
He studied carving at the High School of Arts and Crafts and then film and television graphics at the College of Arts and Crafts in Prague. His artistic expression was also shaped by his work in groups such as Tvrdohlaví or the secret group Bude Konec Světa, but also by his long-standing collaboration with the Sklep Theatre. In 1991 he obtained the Jindřich Chalupecký Award and in 2005 he organised a large retrospective exhibition at the Rudolfinum in Prague, which was attended by over 40,000 people. He presented his graphic work for the first time in 2015 at the ART Gallery in Chrudim. Another significant moment of his work is the comic The Great Wanderings of Vlas and Brady (Albatros, 1987), one of the first Czech author's comics, which was adapted into a puppet show at the Minor Theatre in 2007.
František Skála, Grief, 2013, ART Gallery, Chrudim
Skála's work is characterized by the use of found materials of nature and materials of everyday life, which he combines with a strong imagination, creating objects with a poetic and sometimes surreal character. This creates objects and installations oscillating between artistic gesture, playfulness and philosophical subtext. Skála creates worlds where irony and poetry are a natural part of the material - guitars composed of schmaltz, heads made of seaweed or handwritten travel journals that resemble art books. His work is characterised by a very sensitive relationship with nature, a playfulness, but also an awareness of the fragility of the contemporary world. Skala's objects appear as a fusion of the natural world and dreamlike vision. In his work he naturally combines artistic practices with performative elements, drawing with spatial perception and memories with imagination.
Søren Dahlgaard's photograph shows Pavlína Pudil, collector and co-founder of Kunsthalle Praha, holding House of Dreams IV (Skull) from 2011, which was created as part of the exhibition Fourteen S at Prague's DOX Contemporary Art Centre. This exhibition brought together contemporary Czech artists who each dealt with one of the themes beginning with the letter "S" - in the case of Skála, it was "death" (in Czech "smrt"). The work thematized death as part of human existence, but at the same time lightened it and made it more accessible through visual humor and interactivity. The work thus exemplifies Skala's ability to transform serious themes into forms that are deep, accessible, and that invite the viewer to be playful. His work often crosses the boundaries between fine art, illustration, and performance, as is evident in this piece.
František Skála, House of Dreams IV (Skull), 2011, National Gallery Prague, Prague
