4:30 p.m.– 6 p.m

Lecture by Gabriela Pelikánová. Only in Czech.

The painter Kamil Lhoták (1912–1990) is inextricably linked with the artistic activities of Group 42. Admirers of his work will certainly be familiar with his numerous depictions of airplanes, hot-air balloons, motorcycles and other technological achievements, all viewed through the prism of his melancholic longing for a vanished era around the turn of the 20th century.

However, not many people are aware that Kamil Lhoták did not have any formal artistic training. He was a self-taught painter with immense natural talent, a meticulous feeling for detail, and a remarkable ability to absorb technical information. With his distinctive (indeed quite unique) personal style, he rapidly established himself as one of the foremost Czech artists of the 20th century. He began his career by exploring the aesthetics of lyrical civilism, but in the 1960s he began to embrace the expressive contrasts of colorism, culminating in landscapes that incorporated target-like patterns in the spirit of op-art.

Besides Lhoták’s numerous paintings (around two thousand are known), from the 1940s onwards he also created graphic prints and illustrations. Examples include the artwork for Adolf Branald’s book Old Man Motor Car (1955), which later inspired Alfréd Radok’s comedy film Vintage Car. Lhoták was incredibly prolific. In 1958 alone, his illustrations featured in 18 books, and by the time of his death he had illustrated around 400 publications.

Although Lhoták was completely consumed by his work, he also found time to venture into other areas. He was a great lover of classical music, and during his life he owned around 15 motorcycles. His trips to faraway places were legendary…

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