Miroslav Tichy

Czech, 1926-2011

Tichý is truly one of the great ‘finds’ of an unknown artist who worked on the outside edges of the art world. Born in 1926, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in the late ‘40s and produced figurative paintings that were, apparently, of a vaguely modernist character. Alienated from the prevailing Communist regime, he turned his back on the official art world and withdrew to a life in isolation to live quietly and poorly in the small Moravian town near Brno where he was born. His generally nonconformist way of life led to run-ins with the authorities; following the communist takeover Tichý spent some eight years in prison camps and jails for no particular reason other than he was ‘different’ and was considered subversive. Upon his release in the early 70’s, Tichý wandered his small town in rags, pursuing his obsession as an artist with the female form by photographing in the streets, shops and parks with cameras he made from tin cans, and other junk he found on the street - even his lenses were cut from Plexiglas or children’s spectacle lenses and polished with a mixture of toothpaste and ashes.. He would return home each day to make prints on equally primitive equipment, making only one print from the negatives he selected. For a long time, Tichý was something between a charming oddity and a local bogeyman. He was frequently arrested for hanging around the local pool and snapping pictures of unsuspecting women. The fact that this was all occurring under an oppressive Communist regime added a certain air of rebellion to the proceedings, whether or not he intended it. With time, the locals grew accustomed to his presence and would often welcome having their photos taken. Tichý, practically reinventing photography from scratch, reconstitutes pictorialism along with it, and not as a distortion of the medium but as something like its essence. What counts for him is not only the image - just one moment in the photographic process - but also the chemical activity of the materials, which is never entirely stable or complete, and the delimitation of the results via cropping and framing. Marginal and exceptionally voyeuristic, in his methods Tichý could be described as an “art brut photographer” yet he is also marked by classical influences. Though his images are produced with poor-quality equipment and carelessly shot, they offer an idiosyncratic and almost hallucinatory vision of a fantastical, eroticised reality. With his endless return to the same subject and the volume and regularity of his production, Tichý’s work draws many parallels to certain practices of conceptual art during the same period.

Styles

Materials

Related Artists

Miroslav TichyOriginal Vintage Print - Woman in Bikini - Unique Piece, 1971

$4,500

H 6.89 in W 4.14 in D 0.08 in

Original Vintage Print - Woman in Bikini - Unique Piece

By Miroslav Tichy

Located in Morongo Valley, CA

Original Miroslav Tichý b/w Photography. Woman in Bikini. 17.5cm x 10.5cm Unique Vintage Print on paper with the artist's drawing on it. This piece was part of an art exchange with...

Category

1970s Contemporary Miroslav Tichy

Materials

Photographic Paper, Black and White, Pinhole

Miroslav TichyUntitled, MT Inv. 3-5, Unknown, ca. 1970-1990

$11,841

H 8.63 in W 5.4 in

Untitled, MT Inv. 3-5

By Miroslav Tichy

Located in Zurich, CH

Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. 3-5, Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print 21,9 x 13,7 cm (8 5/8 x 5 3/8 in.) Unique Tichý, practically reinventing ...

Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Miroslav Tichy

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Miroslav TichyUntitled, MT Inv. No 5-6-308, Unknown, ca. 1970-1990

$11,841

H 11.15 in W 8.43 in

Untitled, MT Inv. No 5-6-308

By Miroslav Tichy

Located in Zurich, CH

Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 5-6-308 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print 28,3 x 21,4 cm (11 1/8 x 8 3/8 in.) Frame 60 x 47 cm (23 5/8 x 18 1/...

Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Miroslav Tichy

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Miroslav TichyUntitled, MT Inv. No 10-1-167 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography, Unknown, ca. 1970-1990

$14,574

H 6.97 in W 7.01 in

Untitled, MT Inv. No 10-1-167 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography

By Miroslav Tichy

Located in Zurich, CH

Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 10-1-167 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 17,7 x 17,8 cm (7 x 7 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practically reinventing photography from scratch, reconstitutes pictorialism along with it, and not as a distortion of the medium but as something like its essence. What counts for him is not only the image - just one moment in the photographic process - but also the chemical activity of the materials, which is never entirely stable or complete, and the delimitation of the results via cropping and framing. Marginal and exceptionally voyeuristic, in his methods Tichý could be described as an “art brut photographer” yet he is also marked by classical influences. Though his images are produced with poor-quality equipment and carelessly shot, they offer an idiosyncratic and almost hallucinatory vision of a fantastical, eroticised reality. With his endless return to the same subject and the volume and regularity of his production, Tichý’s work draws many parallels to certain practices of conceptual art during the same period. – Art, Black and White...

Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Miroslav Tichy

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Miroslav TichyUntitled, MT Inv. No 5-6-247, Unknown, ca. 1970-1990

$11,841

H 13.51 in W 10.32 in

Untitled, MT Inv. No 5-6-247

By Miroslav Tichy

Located in Zurich, CH

Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 5-6-247, Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print 34,3 x 26,2 cm (13 1/2 x 10 3/8 in.) Unique Tichý, practically rei...

Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Miroslav Tichy

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Miroslav TichyUntitled, MT Inv. No 11-1-120 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography, Unknown, ca. 1970-1990

$15,788

H 7.05 in W 5.12 in

Untitled, MT Inv. No 11-1-120 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography

By Miroslav Tichy

Located in Zurich, CH

Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 11-1-120 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 17,9 x 13 cm (7 x 5 1/8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, pract...

Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Miroslav Tichy

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Miroslav TichyUntitled, MT Inv. No 7-8-73 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography, Unknown, ca. 1970-1990

$15,788

H 11.54 in W 7.76 in

Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-8-73 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography

By Miroslav Tichy

Located in Zurich, CH

Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-8-73 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 29,3 x 19,7 cm (11 1/2 x 7 3/4 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practically reinventing photography from scratch, reconstitutes pictorialism along with it, and not as a distortion of the medium but as something like its essence. What counts for him is not only the image - just one moment in the photographic process - but also the chemical activity of the materials, which is never entirely stable or complete, and the delimitation of the results via cropping and framing. Marginal and exceptionally voyeuristic, in his methods Tichý could be described as an “art brut photographer” yet he is also marked by classical influences. Though his images are produced with poor-quality equipment and carelessly shot, they offer an idiosyncratic and almost hallucinatory vision of a fantastical, eroticised reality. With his endless return to the same subject and the volume and regularity of his production, Tichý’s work draws many parallels to certain practices of conceptual art during the same period. – Art, Black and White...

Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Miroslav Tichy

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Miroslav TichyUntitled, MT Inv. No 7-6-88 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography, Unknown, ca. 1970-1990

$14,574

H 6.7 in W 4.06 in

Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-6-88 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography

By Miroslav Tichy

Located in Zurich, CH

Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-6-88 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 17 x 10,3 cm (6 3/4 x 4 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practic...

Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Miroslav Tichy

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Browse all Art from Miroslav Tichy

Shop Now

Artists Similar to Miroslav Tichy

Jennifer Greenburg

Shop All Jennifer Greenburg

Lluis Barba

Shop All Lluis Barba

Jo Yarrington

Shop All Jo Yarrington

Delilah Montoya

Shop All Delilah Montoya

Phil Marco

Shop All Phil Marco

xulong zhang

Shop All Xulong Zhang

Brenda Zlamany

Shop All Brenda Zlamany

Allen Ruppersberg

Shop All Allen Ruppersberg

Jeff Becker

Shop All Jeff Becker

Miroslav Tichy art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Miroslav Tichy art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Miroslav Tichy in silver gelatin print, paper, photographic paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Miroslav Tichy art, so small editions measuring 4 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Jennifer Greenburg, Joseph Beuys, and Lluis Barba. Miroslav Tichy art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $4,500 and tops out at $16,173, while the average work can sell for $12,938.