Oldrich Kulhanek

Life in Summersault (from the Figurative Series)

1997

Oldrich Kulhanek was born on 26 February 1940 in Prague. He started studying art at the Secondary Art School in Prague. From 1958 he studied at the College of Applied Arts in Prague in the studio of Prof. Karel Svolinsky. In 1964, Kulhanek completed his studies with a dissertation and illustrations in a book of verses called "Dream" by Vladimir Holan. In 1971 Kulhanek was arrested by the StB (the Czech version of KGB) and accused of sedition and defamation of the political representatives in communist countries in his graphic sheets. It was namely the "abuse" of Stalin's face in his graphic art. The 70`s were thus marked by a total ban from exhibiting, cooperation with publishing houses and any public art. Nevertheless, Kulhanek continued to work and did not wish to play the part of a persona non grata. His art, unlike its author, found its way into the free world illegally. For instance, Kulhanek's graphic art was displayed in the "Hommage a Albrecht Dürer" exhibition in Nuremberg in 1971. The exhibition was organised to celebrate the anniversary of the 500th birthday of A. Dürer and Kulhanek exhibited under the pseudonym of Ulrich Böhm. In 1990 Kulhanek visited the USA for the first time to participate in a Lithographic Workshop in Los Angeles. Since then he has been invited to the States many times. In the summer of 1991, Kulhanek gave a seminar on drawing in the Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrne Beach and was a guest lecturer at the University of Houston-Clear Lake in Texas in 1995. Between 1992 and 1993 Kulhanek was involved in the new Czech banknotes project. During 1994 he created a cycle of lithographs called "Ecce homo". A large monography about him, written by Eva Petrova, was published in 1997.