The exhibition O ľuďoch / About People offers a profile of the work of painter Jan Šafránek, a globetrotter and keen observer who, through precise classical painting techniques, captures the world with an exceptional and unique perspective. In his lively and thoughtful compositions, he records moments of everyday life in streets, markets, festivals, cafes, bars, and galleries. His paintings capture both ordinary and absurd situations, always with a gentle, irony that evokes a smile and stimulates the imagination.
Šafránek’s painting style was formed in the 1960s, when, in addition to painting film panels, he mastered figurative painting. In the 1970s, he was active in the Prague alternative scene, participating in unofficial exhibitions and underground events. His signing of Charter 77 marked a fundamental turning point, which resulted in emigration – first to Austria and later to Australia, from where he travelled to Tasmania, New Zealand, the Pacific, and South America.
The artist, who now lives in Prague and Vienna, projects rich cosmopolitan experiences into his works. Despite all the changes in geographical and personal conditions, his central theme remains man and his stories, in which we always find Šafránek’s typical humor, empathy, and perspective.
“If the Italian trio of the two Thomases and Filippo from the Brancacci Chapel, the Flemish Bruegel, the South American Botero and the North American Edward Hopper were brought together in one exhibition, only the Viennese Czech Jan Šafránek would be missing to make the group complete.” This is how Lubomír Hromádka, a congenial collector of domestic and international art, aptly put it when, together with the equally important connoisseur Jaroslav Kořán, they admired Šafránek’s first exhibition at the Gema Gallery in Prague thirty years ago. What he wrote then remains true to this day.
Jan Šafránek (*April 9, 1948, Hradec Králové) is a Czech painter and draftsman who has been engaged in figurative painting reflecting everyday life since his youth. In the 1970s, he created film posters in Hradec Králové before moving to Prague, where he painted ironic images of normalization reality and actively participated in the alternative art scene. After signing Charter 77, he emigrated to Austria in 1979, where he studied at the Vienna University of Applied Arts. He then moved to Sydney, where he focused on graphics and lithography. He also travelled around America and throughout the Pacific, which significantly influenced his work. Since 1990, he has lived and worked in Prague and Vienna. His works can be found in many domestic and foreign collections.
