TOMÁŠ HŘIVNÁČ | SEARCH FOR THE WOMAN | 6. 3. — 7. 4. 24
Tomáš Hřivnáč was born on November 1, 1959 in Prague to an architect's family, and he was naturally close to the art world since childhood. He began his studies of fine arts at the Secondary School of Applied Arts in Prague in the years: 1975-1979 in the studio "Construction and Creation of Furniture and Interiors". Although he applied to study at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts, he was unsuccessful and eventually spent the next 8 years as an employee at the Prague Construction Design Institute. Already in this job, he devoted his personal time to free artistic creation, which he sold through the then Fine Arts Fund and the Dílo sales gallery.
Tomáš Hřivnáč is engaged in free graphics, painting, drawing, music, but also archery. He is rightly perceived as a Renaissance personality. His strongest means of expression is free graphic creation. In particular, the drypoint gravure graphic technique, which the author masters masterfully, is the most common domain of this artist's graphic sheets. Tomáš Hřivnáč himself mentions it as his favorite technique, and as its benefit he mentions "readiness." "I can immediately try out the incision I make with a needle, and I can immediately see the result, there is no need to wait long, as is the case with the etching technique."
The female nude, subtly tantalizing with its sensual eroticism, is also one of the main themes of the works that represent this exhibition. The figurative subject that Tomáš Hřivnáč depicts most often is the female figure, which the author literally “worships” through graphic techniques. He finds inspiration everywhere around him. Tomáš Hřivnáč’s graphic sheets are inner records of moments in which a glimpse of a situation, story or gesture is revealed. In the author’s words: “The human figure is closest to me as a theme. My work is mainly about people. Even if the figure is not in motion, there must be tension, emotion or psychology of the object, a kind of language of the whole body. I do not look for inspiration, but I find it. Nudity itself is a kind of “basic costume” that never goes out of fashion. The depiction of the human body is one of the earliest forms of art. An expression of what we think about ourselves. The body is simply the most wonderful means of expressing feelings and thoughts about the world. A figure in solitude can express everything that is important to me at the moment.” Despite the figurative nature of the subject, Tomáš Hřivnáč reaches a more abstract position, abandoning the face and concreteness of the depicted person, speaking only with dynamic lines, modeling the shape with forceful hatching, while masterfully mastering human anatomy. The impact of his paintings is often enhanced by an almost baroque chiaroscuro and the corresponding tension. This is precisely why Tomáš Hřivnáč is often called the “Master of the Silk Line.”
Tomáš Hřivnáč is a member of the Concretists Club, Profil, Parabola, the Association of Free Graphics (1993-1999), and since 1999 he has been a member of the renowned "Association of Czech Graphic Artists HOLLAR."
He is the recipient of many major international awards for his contributions to the field of graphics. In 2009, he won first prize at the Xàtiva International Graphic Biennial in Spain for his work Flamenco I. In 2021, he won the 3rd Claude Wolff Prize at the 11th International Graphic Triennial in Chamaliéres, France. His works are widely represented in galleries and private collections in our country and abroad (Great Britain, USA, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Japan, Australia and New Zealand).
