Jan Saudek

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Jan Saudek
Saudek in 2010
Born (1935-05-13) 13 May 1935 (age 88)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
NationalityCzech
Occupation(s)Art photographer, painter
Notable workThe World of Jan Saudek: Photographs, Jan Saudek-Il teatro de la vita, Story from, Czechoslovakia, My Country, and Photographs by Jan Saudek

Jan Saudek (born 13 May 1935) is an

art photographer
and painter.

Jan Saudek's art work represents a unique technique combining photography and painting. In his country of origin, Czechoslovakia, Jan was considered a disturbed artist and oppressed by authorities. His art gained more prominence during the 1990s, thanks to his collaboration with the luxury art book publisher Taschen.

During the 2000s, Saudek lost all his photo negatives in matrimonial dispute and his pictures are now displayed on internet for free. Jan claims they were stolen from him.

Jan is the author of many “

mise en scene
” that were re-taken and copied by other artists. The cliché of a naked man holding a naked new born baby with tenderness became a picture that was reproduced so many times that the composition became as commonplace as posing for a graduation picture.

During his life in

communist Czechoslovakia
, Jan was labeled by the totalitarian regime as a pornographer.

He lived in poverty using the only room in his basement as his studio. A disintegrating wall and a window giving a glimpse into the backyard became the witnesses of his fantasies and collaborations with models of all different sizes and origins.

Life

Jan Saudek and his twin brother Karel (also known as Kája) were born to a Slavic (Czech) mother and

Theresienstadt concentration camp during the war. Their father Gustav was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp in February 1945. Although their mother and many other relatives died, both sons and father survived the war. A Communist-dominated government gained power after the war to rule the country, enforced by the Soviet Union and considered to be behind the Iron Curtain
.

According to Saudek's biography, he acquired his first camera, a

Hugh Edwards of the Art Institute of Chicago
.

Returning to

Communist
authorities allowed him to stop working in the print shop, and gave him permission to apply for a permit to work as an artist. In 1987, the archives of his negatives were seized by the police, but later returned.

Saudek lives and works in Prague. His brother Kája Saudek was also an artist, the best-known Czech graphic novelist.[1][citation needed][3]

Work

Poster for a film by Adolf Zika: Jan Saudek: Bound by Passion (2008).

His best-known work is notable for its hand-tinted portrayal of painterly dream worlds, often inhabited by nude or semi-nude figures surrounded by bare plaster walls or painted backdrops. He frequently re-uses elements (for instance, a clouded sky or a view of Prague's

tableaux works of mid-19th century erotic photographers, as well as the works of the 20th-century painter Balthus, and of Bernard Faucon
.

Saudek's early art photography is noted[by whom?] for its evocation of childhood. His later works often portrayed the evolution from child to adult (re-photographing the same composition/pose, and with the same subjects, over many years). Religious motifs and the ambiguity between man and woman have also been some of Saudek's recurring themes. During the 1990s, his work at times generated censorship attempts in the West because of its provocative sexual content.

Saudek's imagery has sometimes had a mixed reception internationally. He gained early shows in 1969 and 1970 in the United States and in Australia. In 1970 his work was shown at the

Victoria, Australia just before the opening on 21 August 2011; objections had been made related to allegations of child prostitution for his subject.[4]

Saudek's photographs have been featured as covers for the albums of

Beautiful South (Welcome to the Beautiful South
).

Publications (selected)

Films and radio

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

2020: Malostranská beseda, Prague, Czech Republic[5]

2015: Valeria Rabbit Hole Art Room, Warsaw, Poland

2013
  • Blatenský Fotofestival, Blatná, Czech Republic[6]
  • Galerie Malá Synagoga, Trnava, Slovakia[7]

2012

  • Int. Photofestival Spillimbergo & Udine, Italy Centres of Art, Tarnow, Poland

2011

  • Chamber Gallery U Schell, Budweis, Czech Republic
  • Visio Art Gallery, Plzeň
  • Mondo Bizzarro Gallery, Rome, Italy
  • Phototheatron, Athens, Greece
  • Galerie Esther Woerdehoff (group exhibition), Paris
  • Ballarat Int. Photo Biennale, Melbourne, Australia

2010

  • Fotografija Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • Fotofestival Nordic Light, Kristiansund, Norway
  • Kunsthandel gallery, Graz, Austria
  • Nordic Light (int. Festival of photography) Kristiansund, Norway
  • Fotografia Galerija, Ljubljana, Slovenia

2009

  • Gallery Velvet Kelly, Žilina, Slovakia
  • Monopoli-Castello Carlo V., Italy

2008

  • Velvet Gallery, Bojnice, Slovakia
  • Royal Palace (along with JPWitkinem (Joel-Peter Witkin?)), Milan, Italy

2007

  • Galerie Jan Saudek, Prague, Czech Republic

2006

  • International fotobienále, 6th edition, Moscow, Russia
  • IN FOCUS Gallery, Cologne, Germany

2005

  • House White Unicorn, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Gallery of Photography Past Rays, Japan
  • K. Mennour Gallery, Paris

2004

  • Krišal Gallery, Geneve, Switzerland
  • Lattuada Studio Gallery, Milan, Italy

2003

  • Broel Museum
  • Biennale de Venise, Italy
  • FIAC, Galerie K. Mennour, Paris
  • Krišal Gallery, Geneve, Switzerland

2001

  • Comenius Museum, Naarden, Netherlands
  • University of Nottingham

2000

  • Carousel de Louvre, Paris Art Gallery Mennour, Paris

1999

  • Paris Photo Gallery Mennour, Paris
  • VB Photographic Centre, Kuopio, Finland

1998

  • Bergamot Station Art Center BGH Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
  • Municipal House in Prague, Czech Republic
  • The Museum of Photography, Tel-Hai, Israel

1997

  • Museo Ken Damy, Brescia, Italy
  • Paris Photo, Krišal Gallery, Paris

1996

  • Museum of Art, Olomouc, Czech Republic

1995

  • A Gallery for fine photography, New Orleans, LA

1994

  • Parco Gallery, Tokyo

1993

  • Month of Photography, Palffy Palace, Bratislava, Slovakia

1992

  • Galerie Municipale du Chateau d'Eau, Toulouse, France

1991

  • Musee National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
  • Portfolio Gallery, London

1990

  • Robert Koch Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
  • Gallery Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan
  • RIP, Arles, France

1989

  • Photography Forum Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
  • Jan Kesner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1987

  • Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris

1986

1985

  • Münchner Stadtmuseum, München, Germany

1984

  • Musee National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris

1981

  • Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH
  • Jacques Baruch Gallery, Chicago, IL
  • Marcuse Pfeifer Gallery, New York

1980

  • FNAC - Montparnasse, Paris
  • photokina
    , Cologne, Germany

1979

  • G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1978

  • Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH
  • International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, NY

1977

1976

  • Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
  • Jacques Baruch Gallery, Chicago, IL

1969

1963

  • Divadlo Na zábradlí, Prague, Czech Republic[8]

Collections

Saudek's work is held in the following permanent collections:

  • The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
  • Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
  • Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
  • International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, NY
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
  • Moravian Gallery in Brno, Czech Republic
  • Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris
  • Musée Paul Getty, Los Angeles, CA
  • Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
  • National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
  • National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

References

  1. ^ a b c Asiedu, Dita (16 December 2001). "Saudek Brothers Documentary". Czech Radio. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  2. ^ Hess, Hugo (22 October 2014). "Jan Saudek". WideWalls. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  3. ^ "The "four-leaf clover" comics". Czech Radio. 28 February 2005. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  4. ^ McCall, Gina (22 August 2011). "Photo withdrawn after child prostitution claim". The Age. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  5. ^ Janzer, Till (15 May 2020). "Foto-Ausstellung von Jan Saudek in Prag eröffnet" [Photo exhibition by Jan Saudek opened in Prague] (in German). Radio Prague International. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Blatenský Fotofestival" (in Czech). Fotoklub Kamfo Blatná. 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Malá synagóga v Trnave prináša výstavu fotografií Jana Saudeka" [Malá synagóga in Trnava presents an exhibition of photographs by Jan Saudek] (in Slovak). Teraz.sk. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  8. ^ Chuchma, Josef (20 March 2003). "Zraněný exhibicionista Jan Saudek" [Wounded exhibitionist Jan Saudek] (in Czech). iDNES.cz. Retrieved 22 August 2022.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jan Saudek.
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