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    1989–1994 Series: Waves
    Series

    Series: Waves

    I consider this painting to be the culmination of the preceding cycle of Ornaments and to herald the new cycle of Waves.
    I moved away from the minute rhythms of previous work which, in this painting, are pushed into the background, rendering it more subtle. I opted for a radical grand composition, fairly simple, using the effect of aggressive raw red on the background of a subtle complex blue with a darker outline. I employed a “straight-in-your-face” approach and a poster-like clarity.
    Only, it is not so easy to say what is being conveyed and why.

    The red undulating line on a white backing popped up more and more frequently in my works and the division of the painting was always determined by its format. I realized that the undulating line is both the simplest rhythmic brushwork articulation and the only possible synthesis of two elemental motions – forward and circular. The colour design was reduced to a single colour that overpowered all the others. Red seemed to be able to replace any other colour, although my paintings often featured other raw colours – yellow, blue, and black. They were accompanied by subtle light blue intended for the contours of the massive red lines of the waves.

    The second half of the cycle is comprised of red paintings with compositions and patterns created using white waves and a white division of the surface with a black contour. For a long period that followed I considered the colours – red, white, black – to be fundamental in terms of meaning. I set out to reinforce their expressiveness. Red was probably used because it is so beautiful and, at the same time, so powerfully expressive. In that year, I received the Jindřich Chalupecký Prize. The first critical review of my work appeared in the press.

    1988 – 1991