jan vičar | black tears

Description

Graphics as a memory notebook. The imprint of a night breath. A cut made through layers of material and time. The Black Tears exhibition presents a collection of works by graphic artist Jan Vičar, inspired primarily by his African stays and experiences. This distinctive solitary figure of the contemporary Czech graphic scene, holder of the Mario Avati Prize of the French Academy, the Vladimír Boudník Prize, and laureate of many other awards, brings to the Alšova South Bohemian Gallery an artistic statement that is dark yet deeply expressive. Vičar's works oscillate between diary entries and dream visions. In his woodcuts and linocuts, time condenses – past, present, and mythical dimensions intertwine. Each imprint is a trace of a journey that is not only geographical but primarily internal. Africa becomes an initiation landscape in his work – not described but re-experienced. Vičar's graphics are not illustrations of experiences. They are records of the clash of cultural layers, the corporeality of the landscape, and a presence that unsettles and fascinates. And this clash is imprinted into the very substance of his works. The author's artistic language grows from classical graphic techniques, especially woodcut and linocut, but pushes them far beyond the commonly understood boundaries of the medium. Vičar often works with the matrix and the imprint as two equal entities, with the resulting form always being an open experiment. Using a press of his own construction, he creates monumental formats in which graphics become space, rhythm, and object. His work resonates with the legacy of old masters of European graphics – from Dürer to Goya – but also with the Czech tradition of expressive line and existential depth, as known from the work of Josef Váchal. Like him, Vičar combines poetry, magic, and craft discipline into a single whole. His graphics act as artifacts – as if they were engraved directly into the surface of time. Records of human experience, pain, transcendence, and quiet awe. Each sheet is a testimony that does not need a point. Instead of a story comes an image. Instead of a message comes a layer, texture, rhythm. The Black Tears exhibition presents Jan Vičar as an author who remains faithful to traditional media but handles them freely and radically. His work proves that classical graphics – based on manual work, rhythm, and material – can still be monumental, relevant, and deeply existential today. jan vičar | black tears
curator | jan kunze
graphics | mariana jůdová
exhibition | 14. 6. - 22. 11. 2026
castle riding hall | hluboká nad vltavou

Highlights

• Exhibition of works by Jan Vičar
• Inspiration from African stays
• Dark and expressive artistic statement

General Information

The Black Tears exhibition presents a collection of graphic works by Jan Vičar, drawing from his experiences in Africa. The works combine classical techniques with experimental approaches and explore cultural clashes and the author's inner journeys.

Location

Hluboká nad Vltavou 144, 373 41 Hluboká nad Vltavou, Czech Republic

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