Lithograph, 32x23 cm. Signed bottom right Jiří Slíva
About the artist:
Jiří Slíva (*1947) is a Czech artist dedicated to cartoon humor, book illustration, lithography, and other graphic techniques. In addition, he writes aphorisms, verses for adults and children, composes songs, and is the author of many postage stamps.
In 1966, he left his native Plzeň for Prague to study at the University of Economics. After completing his studies in 1971, he remained in Prague and started working as a specialist at the Institute for Philosophy and Sociology of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.
In 1979, he began to earn his living solely from drawing. He started writing song lyrics during his high school studies, and his first drawings were published by Mladá fronta in 1972. Since then, he has had numerous solo exhibitions both in the Czech Republic and worldwide. He has published many standalone books and illustrated over two dozen others. He also wrote verses for the children's magazine Mateřídouška.
Since 1993, he has been a member of the Hollar Association of Czech Graphic Artists. He was a member of the Czech Union of Cartoonists (ČUK). He was involved in pedagogical activities – in 1990, he led the Poetry & Cartoon seminar at Oberlin College in Ohio, USA.
In Salzburg, Germany, he taught drawing and illustration at the International Summer Academy of Fine Arts (Internationale Sommerakademie für Bildende Kunst Salzburg) from 1990 to 1993, assisting, for example, Professor Jiří Šalamoun. Slíva's cartoon humor is usually based on paradox – placing otherwise serious and common subjects into unexpected contrasts. Among his favorite themes, which he depicts in his works, are coffee, wine, jazz, love, and Franz Kafka.
