PETR BALÍČEK: PHOTOGRAPHS

Curator: Jan Mlčoch
Graphic design: Štěpán Malovec

In his photographic work, the genetics researcher Petr Balíček (1942 Svratka – 2020 Hradec Králové) pursued a variety of subjects. Besides documentary series, he engaged in staged photography (e.g. the series Tváře/Faces) that he produced in the 1970s and 1980s within the framework of the artists’ association Setkání (Encounters). In his following cycles, he focused on traditional medicine and folk customs, as well as on the tabuized themes of homosexuality and children with congenetal disorders. The photographer’s bequest also includes experimental works treated as one-of-a-kind artefacts (e.g. the series Smluvená znamení/Agreed-upon Signs (1972), conceptually-minded photographs capturing art happenings (Malá odpolední událost/Small Afternoon Events (1981) and Ukládání stínů/Storage of Shadows (1982), as well as series depicting minimalist motifs, such as Panelák/Panelstory (1982), Ready-mades (1982) and Zkoumání krychle/Study of a Cube (1983–1986).

The small-scale display of Petr Balíček’s photographs at the Josef Sudek Gallery is a selection of works from his photography donation presented to the museum in 2013.