Lot 178

Jan Souček (1941 - 2008) NIGHT CITY

The focus of Jan Souček’s work lies primarily in the substance of his message; the visual aspect reflects the artist’s admiration for the old masters and the technical quality of painting. We thus encounter a thoughtful layering of glazes, painted details, chiaroscuro elements, and the expertise of a draftsman and graphic artist who composes space carefully and consciously, with respect for the techniques employed. In terms of content, the real and fantastical worlds intertwine, along with dreams of ancient civilizations and the question of the passage of time and the penetration of natural laws into the artifactual landscape. Jan Souček has created a coherent work that appeals to admirers of Verne and Stevenson, into which he has placed his own land of Mmu and its capital, Lemuria. He created a map and a travelogue of it and described the fates of its inhabitants. In the same way, he applied the ravages of time to the familiar world and set it in a landscape where the present becomes myth.