Josef Bolf - Great Expectations

March 08 - March 29, 2008

Opening reception on Friday, 7th of March, 7 pm

The artist will be present.

Josef Bolf | Great Expectations

One might feel trapped in a bizarre story that has gone astray: Josef Bolf creates images, whose sceneries, rich in detail and imagination, appear like tangled dreams or lost bits of memory. His own memories are at the source of his new series "Great Expectations" (2007-2008). Bolf returns to the old flat of his grandmother, a cosy surrounding, sofa, wallpaper and flowers mingle with uncertain gloom and unsettling details. Bolf borrows the title from the well known novel of Charles Dickens. The book also offers retrospection, into a childhood and youth that is overshadowed by future developments - although never foretold by the author, they are omnipresent through the choice of words and allusions.

For "Great Expectations" the artist uses a painting technique that he has refined over several years: he applies the images in many layers, the first colorful paintings are later covered with thick black wax-paint, in which he then scratches meticulous drawings, thus again revealing the colored background. It is a technique that for many may be familiar from childhood, and not only thanks to this detail, it suits perfectly for the purpose of his topic: the scratching and digging in long forgotten memories. The lines are shimmering delicately on a pitch-black surface, exposing small bits of the hidden layers, much though remains sealed below.

Josef Bolf _ Born 1971 in Prague (Czech Republic). Lives and works in Prague. Studied painting at Jir(í Nac(eradský and printmaking at Vladimír Kokolia and Vladimír Skrepl (1990-1998). He received a scholarship for the Kongsthogskolan in Stockholm (1996), Sweden and the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart, Germany (1997). Is a member of the group BJ (Bezhlavy Jezdec, Headless Rider) with Jan Manc(uska, Jan Šerých and Tomáš Vane(k. Participation at a visual arts residency program, the ISCP (International Studio and Curatorial Program) in New York, USA.


You also find the press release as a PDF-Download on our website:

http://www.zak-gallery.com/press.php

Here you can find more information about the artist and a selection of his work:

http://www.zak-gallery.com/artists.php?artistsid=35