Lot 182

Josef Jíra (1929 - 2005) ORAVA

Jíra’s painting "Orava" from the 1980s is a variation on certain archetypes that Josef Jíra frequently employed. A trout reminiscent of the 1967 painting Landscape with Killed Trouts, a red disc of the setting sun, and a phantom with a large open eye (from the Eyes cycle, 1967–1970). Josef Jíra’s work understands the cyclical nature of time and the repeated exploration of a theme in a philosophical manner—as an informed contemplation, as a conscious regression, and as an expanded vision from many angles. Josef Jíra himself mentions that in the most difficult moments, when, in his own words, “he felt like dying,” he returned to his happy childhood and sought out pure moments. He painted without pretense, often torn by experiences on the edge of life and death, and yet he found “the key to the emotional mystery of metaphor” (K. Teissig)

Reference: Jíra, Josef (ed.), Josef Jíra. Painter and Graphic Artist. Selected Works, Prague 2004.