UB 12
VÁCLAV BARTOVSKÝ
★1903 Prague +1961 Vůsí u Milevska
1915-1925
Studies at the Real Gymnasium in Prague, but does not graduate. Attends the private painting schools of Rudolf Vejrych and Jaroslav Poš. In the 1920s he makes his first contacts with the Prague art scene. A long-term friendship is established between Zdeněk Rykr and Václav Bartovský.
1928
First solo exhibition in the House of Artists in Prague (Krasoumná jednota).
1930s
Study trip to Paris where he becomes acquainted with modern French painting. He especially admires Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard. After returning to Prague, he studies painting techniques and becomes interested in cubism for a brief time as well as surrealism at the end of the 30s. Regularly contributes articles to the journal Zdroj on important personalities in Czech and world art, especially French painters.
1948
Becomes a member of Umělecká beseda. Here he meets Václav Boštík, Jindřich Chalupecký, and Jiří Kolář and becomes a recognized authority within the association. Jiří Kolář dedicates to him his poetry collection Master Sun on the Poetic Arts. Solo exhibition at the Topič Salon in Prague. Text of the catalog by Jindřich Chalupecký and Jiří Kolář. Contributes to the daily press as a critic and reviewer and works on a monograph of Bedřich Vaníček. Beginning 1951 he leads art courses in Textile Design in Prague.
1958-1961
Becomes close with young artists (Jiří John, Adriena Šimotová, Stanislav Kolíbal, Vlasta Prachatická, Jiří Mrázek, Daisy Mrázková) in the loft II. of the Regional Center of the Union of Czechoslovak Graphic Artists, Umělecká beseda. Initiates the formation of the UB12 Group.
1960
A book by Jiří Padrta, Václav Bartovský, is published by the Publishing House of Czechoslovak Artists in Prague.
VÁCLAV BOŠTÍK
★ 1913 Horní Újezd u Litomyšle ✚2005 Prague
1933-1937
Studies drawing and descriptive geometry at the Czech Technical University in Prague.
1937-1939
Studies painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague under prof. Willi Nowak. During this time he meets the sculptor Jan Křížek.
1942
Becomes a member of Umělecká beseda. Gets married. The Boštík family have five daughters. Creates his first abstract drawings.
1945
Completes his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in the graphic studio. Through Jiří Mrázek he meets the students of the School of Applied Arts, future members of UB12.
1953
Confrontational exhibition of Václav Boštík, Jiří John, Stanislav Kolíbal, Daisy Mrázková, Jiří Mrázek, Adriena Šimotová in the studio of Václav Boštík in Prague, Nad Královskou oborou 15.
1953-1955
Employed as a laboratory technician and photographer in the Laboratory of higher nervous activity of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.
1953-1959
Together with Jiří John implements the Memorial of Jewish Victims of Nazism in the Pinkas Synagogue in Prague.
1956
Trip to Paris with Jiří John (with an exhibition of children’s drawings from the Terezín concentration camp).
1957
Solo exhibition at the Aleš Hall of Umělecká beseda in Prague.
Exhibits his abstract work.
1968
Solo exhibition in the New Hall in Prague. A six-month stay in Paris.
FRANTIŠEK BURANT
★ 1924 Železná u Berouna ✚2001 Prague
1940
Passes the entrance examinations for the State Graphic School in Prague. During the War is compelled to work first for two years in engineering plants in Jinice-Čenkov, then in a Beroun textile factory until the end of the war.
1945-1947
Studies at the State Graphic School in Prague under prof. Zdeněk Balaš. Here he meets Jiří John, Jiří Mrázek and Adriena Šimotová.
1947-1952
Enters the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design and studies monumental painting under Professor Josef Kaplický. He studies together with Jiří John and Adriena Šimotová. He also studies graphic techniques at UMPRUM.
1950-1951
Works as an assistant professor to prof. Josef Kaplický.
1952
Becomes a member of the Union of Graphic Artists and placed in the II. Regional Center of the Union of Czechoslovak Graphic Artists, Umělecká beseda.
1957
Participates in the Exhibition of Five Artists held in the Aleš Hall of Umělecká beseda.
1958
Creates a mosaic for the Czechoslovak Pavilion at the World Exhibition in Brussels, which is awarded a gold medal. Becomes a member of the Hollar Association of Czechoslovak Graphic Artists, whose exhibitions he regularly contributes to. Within the association he participates in the activities of Group G.
1960-1969
Works as an assistant professor in the field of glass art. In 1969 receives the title of associate professor.
VLADIMÍR JANOUŠEK
★ 1922 Ždírnice near Nová Paka ✚1986 Prague
1940
Completes the Trutnov Gymnasium.
1940-1941
Attends a graduate course in Hořice. After the course is abolished, is employed by a construction company in Hostinné.
1941-1942
Studies at the School of Arts and Crafts in Brno. Admitted to the studio of prof. Karel Dvořák at the School of Applied Arts in Prague.
1942-1945
Forced labor under German rule. Works in Saxony, Germany.
1945
Fails the entrance exams at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.
1945-1949
Studies at the School of Applied Arts in Prague (since 1948 at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design) in the studio of prof. Josef Wagner. His classmates are Miloš Chlupáč, Věra Havlová, Eva Kmentová, Zdeněk Palcr, Alina Szapocznikovová, Olbram Zoubek.
1948
Marries the sculptor Věra Havlová.
1948-1949
Together with his wife he spends two semesters at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia under prof. Ivan Funěva.
1950
Graduates from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. Acquires a studio in Malátova Street in Smíchov, where he works until 1956.
1952
Admitted to the II. Regional Center of the Union of Czechoslovak Graphic Artists, Umělecká beseda. Here he meets Václav Bartovský and other artists of the future UB12 Group.
1955-1961
Wins several competitions and executes public commissioins (relief for the House of Fashion in Prague 1955-1956, relief for the Czechoslovak Pavilion at the World Exhibition in Brussels, 1958, Karel Hynek Mácha’s memorial for Doksy, 1961.
1961-1970
Abandons traditional sculptural material and begins working with asbestos-cement, polyvinyl chloride, welding technology, metal plates and bars. The first mobile sculptures are created.
1962
His monograph on Jiří Šetlík was published by Publishing House of Czechoslovak Graphic Artists.
1964
Builds a studio in Košíře, where he works until his death.
1967
Mother passes away. First solo exhibition, Pendulums and other sculptures, takes place in the New Hall in Prague. Participates in the sculpture symposium in Liberec. At the World Exhibition in Montreal his sculpture Mother with a Child is placed in the Czechoslovak Pavilion.
1968-1970
Architectural work realized (paradise courtyard in the reconstructed George Monastery, sculptures with water components for Kajetan terraces and others).
1970
Creates a monumental sculpture Threat of War for the Czechoslovak Pavilion at the World Exhibition in Osaka
VĚRA JANOUŠKOVÁ
★ 1922 Úbislavice u Jičína ✚2010 Prague
1941-1942
Attends elementary school. Studies at the Vocational School of Sculpture and Stonework in Hořice.
1942-1944
Studies at the School of Applied Arts in Prague in the studio of prof. Karel Dvořák.
1945-1948
Studies at the School of Applied Arts in Prague (since 1948 at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design) in the studio of prof. Josef Wagner. Her classmates are Vladimír Janoušek, Miloš Chlupáč, Eva Kmentová, Zdeněk Palcr, Alina Szapocznikovová, Olbram Zoubek.
1948
Marries Vladimír Janoušek.
1948-1949
Studies for two semesters at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia under prof. Ivan Funěv. Becomes acquainted with Bulgarian folk art and with ancient monuments on the territory of Bulgaria.
1952
Admitted to the II. Regional Center of the Czechoslovak Technical University, Umělecká beseda. Here she meets Václav Bartovský and other artists of the future UB12 Group. She and her husband acquire a studio on Malátova Street in Smíchov.
1957
During a trip to the USSR she visits Moscow, Leningrad, a Russian monastery and temples in Zagorsk, and the Cathedral of St. Sofia in Kiev. In Warsaw she visits the studio of Alina Szapoczniková.
1958
Study trip to Greece.
1960
Independent exhibition with Adriena Šimotová in the Hall of People’s Democracy on Charles Square. Starts working in her new studio in Břevnov. Here she creates her hand-sewn tapestries. Study trip to Paris.
1960s
Begins to use asbestos cement, masters welding technology, begins to create sculptures from coal slag, reliefs from white gypsum with elements of metal, sculptures and items from found objects, as well as her first collages from waste paper.
1962
Visits Tigra Jiu in Romania, where she becomes acquainted with religious monuments, the work of Brancusi, and folk art.
1962-1964
Together with her husband, she builds a studio in Košíře, which becomes an important art center in the sixties.
1965
Solo exhibition at the Václav Spála Gallery in Prague.
1966-1969
Trip to Egypt and Italy.
JIŘÍ JOHN
★ 1923 Třešť ✚1972 Prague
1938
Graduates the grammar school in Třešť. Trains as a locksmith.
1941
Works in a machine factory in Hedvikov. Creates his first line drawings for the local student journal Vítr.
1945-1946
Studies one year at the State Graphic School in Prague under prof. Zdeněk Balaš. Meets Jiří Mrázek, Jiří Šindler and Adriena Šimotová.
1946-1951
Studies at the School of Applied Arts in Prague (since 1948 the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design) in the studio of prof. Josef Kaplický, concurrently with Adriena Šimotová, Jiří Mrázek, Jiří Šindler, Jiří Schmidt. Through Jiří Mrázek he meets Václav Boštík.
1947
Attends an exhibition by Josef Šíma in Prague’s Topič Salon.
1948
Václav Boštík assigns his studio to Jiří John in Nad Královskou oborou 15 in Prague. A friendship develops between the two artists, which is of fundamental significance for both.
1951
Begins his two-year military service and discovers the poetry of Boris Pasternak.
1953
Marries Adriena Šimotová. Enters the II. Regional Center of the Czechoslovak Union of Graphic Artists, Umělecká beseda. Here he meets Václav Bartovský. Together with Václav Boštík, Stanislav Kolíbal, Daisy Mrázková, Jiří Mrázek and Adriena Šimotová, he participates in a non-public confrontational exhibition held in the studio of Václav Boštík. Temporary worker on archaeological surveys at the Golden Horse near Koněprus, and discovers the world of geological strata and spaces beneath the Earth’s surface.
1954-1959
Works with Václav Boštík at the Memorial of Jewish Victims of Nazism at the Pinkas Synagogue in Prague.
1956
Visits Paris for the first time. Travels with an exhibition of children’s drawings from the Terezín concentration camp (together with Václav Boštík). Meets Jan Křížek.
1957
Takes part in the Exhibition of Five Artists in the Aleš Hall of Umelecká beseda in Prague. Meets Věra and Vladimír Janoušková at the Regional Center of the Czechoslovak Union of Graphic Artists.
1958
Works on illustrations to Michelangelo’s Sonnets.
1960
Birth of son Martin. Solo exhibition in the Aleš Hall of Umělecká beseda.
1961-1964
Illustrates Dostoevsky’s novel The Insulted and the Injured (published by Svět sovětů). Appointed assistant professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where he leads an evening drawing school. He regularly participates in international graphic art exhibitions where he receives numerous awards (1963 silver medal in Sao Paulo, 1965 fifth prize in Ljubljana; San Marino, Písek, 1966 in Lugano, 1969 in Ljubljana, Václav Hollar prize in Prague, 1970 prize for drawing in Rijeka).
1964
Trip to Paris, where he met Josef Šíma. Studies the works of Joan Miró and Max Ernst. Alois Jirásek made a short film about Jiří John on a theme suggested by Jiří Šetlík.
1965
Independent exhibition in the New Hall. First signs of chronic kidney inflammation.
1966
Trip to Switzerland. Works on illustrations for the Lighthouses of Saint-John Pers for which he received the Mladá fronta publishing house prize in 1967.
1967-1968
Creates the tapestry Crystals for the Czechoslovak Pavilion at the World Exhibition in Montreal. Creates the tapestry Rosa for the Czechoslovak Embassy in London. The monumental image Movement of the Earth for the Federal Assembly building in Prague. Tapestry for the Czechoslovak Embassy in Stockholm.
1968
Awarded the Klement Gottwald State Prize. Trip to France, where he meets with Josef Šíma at his retrospective exhibition in Paris.
1969
Trip to Germany, Poland. Trip to France with Adriena Šimotová. Visits Josef Šíma in his studio. Illustrates Moon by Karel Toman, published by Mladá fronta. Tomáš Osolsobě makes the film Talks with John.
1970
Jaromír Zemina completes John’s monograph for the Obelisk publishing house (the book was not published until 1988 by Odeon).
STANISLAV KOLÍBAL
★ 1925 Orlová
1938
After Těšínská joins Poland, the family moves to Ostrava. He studies at the Real Gymnasium in Ostrava-Přívoz.
1943
As a guest he exhibits at the member exhibition of the Moravian-Silesian Association of Fine Artists in the House of Arts in Ostrava.
1944
Sent to forced labor mines in Ostrava. Passes the exams for the School of Applied Arts in Prague. However, the school is closed this year. Creates illustrations for books by Edgar Allen Poe, František Halas and Boris Pilňak. First meeting with Václav Boštík at the Vyšehrad publishing house.
1945
Publishes his article “Response and Manifesto” in the periodical Nástup as a defense of modern art against ideological reproaches. Goes to Prague to study at the studio of applied graphics of prof. Antonín Strnadel. At the School of Applied Arts he meets students of prof. Kaplický - Jiří John, Adriena Simotová, Jiří Mrázek, Jiří Šindler. Starts working as a book graphic designer.
1948
Creates a cycle of seven wood engravings for Václav Pour’s publishing house. Makes his first filmmaking experiment in an abandoned village in the border area. His sculptures of stones originate in the river bed of Bečva near Vsetín, which prefigures his later sculptural work in a fundamental way.
1950
Graduates from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design. Illustrates Mickiewicz’s Ballads and Romances for the Vyšehrad publishing house (forbidden to be published). Begins to study stage design at the Theater Faculty under prof. František Tröster.
1952
Admitted to the Czechoslovak Union of Graphic Artists. At the II. Regional Center in the loft of Umělecká beseda he meets Václav Bartovský and other future members of the UB12 Group. Works on theatre productions in Ostrava, Opava and for the National Theater in Prague.
1953
Acquired a studio on Nad Královskou oborou 23 near the studios of Boštík, John and Bartovský. Marries the sculptor Vlasta Prachatická. Completes his studies in scenography. Remains at the Theater Faculty (until 1959) as a part-time stage teacher. He begins to occupy himself with sculpture seriously and systematically. Birth of daughter Markéta.
1956
Birth of son Paul.
1957
Participates in the Exhibition of Five Artists in the Aleš Hall of Umělecká beseda (Burant, John, Kolíbal, Prachatická, Šimotová). Trip to Greece. At the National Museum in Athens he encounters ancient Greek art and is especially impressed by statues from the Cyclades Islands. Illustrations to a fairy tale collection (this book becomes important for the development of Czech book illustration). Illustrations for books by Torquato Tasso and A. P. Chekov.
1958
Co-organizer of and participant in the Art Exhibition of Young Artists of Czechoslovakia in the House of Arts in Brno. Co-founder of the Bloc of Creative Groups. Visits the world exhibition in Brussels. Discovers a monograph by Isam Noguchi and a book about Alexander Calder (becoming acquainted with the work of these two artists will change his current view of sculpture).
1959
Trip to Egypt, Syria and Lebanon.
1964
Creates sculptures for the Great Moravia exhibition at Prague Castle. Designs a solution for the supporting walls of the Nusle Bridge and a relief wall for the Czech Airlines office in Sofia. Trip to Italy. Attends the Venice Biennale. Attends an exhibition of Lucio Fontana in Milan. Elected to the management of the MSGR section (painters, sculptors and graphic designers).
1965
Graphically prepares the monthly journal Fine Art until its demise in 1970 (together with Jiří Schmidt). Participates in the preparation of the Paris-Prague exhibition and installs the exhibition in Paris. His statue “Table” is selected by the Guggenheim Museum in New York for the Sculpture of Twenty Nations exhibition. Creates his first abstract sculptures.
1966
In Paris he installs an exhibition of Czech cubism in the Musée National d’Art Modeme. Moves to a studio on Rooseveltova Street in Prague 6. Creates a roof garden for the Czechoslovak Pavilion at the World Exhibition in Montreal.
1967
Installs an exhibition of Contemporary Czechoslovak Art in Turin as well as exhibits. Meets Lucio Fontana. First solo exhibition of sculptures in the New Hall in Prague. Receives an award in Bologna for illustrations to the book Crystal Sisters as well as an anniversary award from Albatros in Prague.
1968
Participates in the organization of the exhibition New Sensitivity in Brno. Creates an 18m wall for the Czechoslovak Embassy in London. Study stay in Vence (southern France) in the studio of the Karoly Foundation. Attends a symposium in Korcula (Vela Luka), where he becomes friends with Achille Perilli.
1969
Works on a sculpture for the Czechoslovak Pavilion in Osaka called Homage to Japan. Receives a six-month Ford Foundation scholarship, but the political situation does not allow him to travel.
1970
Solo exhibition at Špála Gallery in Prague. Participates in the exhibition Between Man and Matter in Tokyo (a selection of the Japanese critic Yusuke Nakahara).
ALENA KUČEROVÁ
★ 1935 Prague
Spends her childhood with her parents in Prague and her grandparents in Lhota near Stará Boleslav.
1950-1954
Studies at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design on Křižovnická Street in the studio of prof. Rudolf Beneš, where she meets her classmates Čestmír Janošek, Jan Švankmajer, Theodor Pištěk, Karel Nepraš, Nada Plíšková, Jarmila Pešická.
1955
Admitted to the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague to the studio of Karel Svolinský. However, he refuses to accept for cadre reasons, so she transfers to the studio of Antonín Strnadel. Graduates from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in 1959. Studies with Eva Bednářová, Rudolf Němec, Zbyněk Kučera, Karel Laštovka, Marie Macháčová and Vladimír Kopecký, who studied under Kaplický. Kopecký introduces her to former Kaplický students Adriena Šimotová, Jiří John, František Burant and Jiří Mrázek. After graduation in the second half of the fifties she devotes herself to graphic design.
1960
On the recommendation of Šimotová, she becomes a member of the UB12 Group.
1961
Creates a series of black line drawings to accompany Christian Morgenstern’s poetry collection Gallows Songs. From her first expressively abstract compositions she moves to geometric abstraction.
1962
Marries Vladimír Kopecký.
1965
First solo exhibition in the Hall of People’s Democracy on Charles Square.
1967
Solo exhibition at Jaroslav Král Gallery in Brno. For the Czechoslovak Pavilion in Montreal she creates a four-meter high window – etched glass with abstract composition (the stained glass was purchased by the organizers and placed in the Canadian Conservatory). First prize at the international graphics competition Premio Biella.
1969
Honorable mention at the International Graphic Biennial in Ljubljana.
1970
Second prize at the International Graphic Biennial in Krakow.
JIŘÍ MRÁZEK
★ 1920 Prague ✚2008 Prague
1930-1939
Attends Real Gymnasium in Prague. His drawing professors are F.V. Mokrý and Pravoslav Kotík.
1937
Mrázek is impressed by the exhibition of modern French art at Mánes. Meets Václav Boštík at the Arnošt dormitory in Prague at an exhibition of young artists.
1939
Graduates Real Gymnasium. An unsuccessful attempt to enter the studio of Willi Nowak at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where Václav Boštík is studying at the time. Studies drawing at the Technical University in Prague under prof. Cyril Bouda, Oldřich Blažíček and Josef Sejpka. After the schools are closed by the Nazis, he studies at the Ceramic School in Prague.
1940-1941
Attends the Ukrainian Academy of prof. Ivan Kulc. Meets Jan Křížek in Václav Boštík’s studio.
1942
Unsuccessfully attempts to be admitted to the School of Applied Arts in Prague. First automatic drawings. Passes the exams at the State Graphic School in Prague. Studies for a year with Richard Lander and Zdeněk Balaš, who greatly influences his further artistic development. Meets Adriena Šimotová, Jiří John and Jiří Šindler.
1943
Admitted to the School of Applied Arts. School closed by the Nazis the following year.
1944
Marries the painter Daisy Troníčková. Leaves Prague with his wife and spends a year in the Bohemian-Moravian highlands in the village of Březiny u Svratky. Works for the architect ing. Jaroslav Čermák and designs applied art for church buildings.
1945-1949
Studies at the School of Applied Arts (since 1948 at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design) in the studio of prof. Josef Kaplický, his classmates are Adriena Šimotová, Jiří John and Jiří Šindler.
1949
Graduates from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design. By this time, he has three children. In the 1950s and 1960s works as a designer of Textile production in the woven textile studio of prof. Antonín Kybal (later the Institute of Housing and Clothing Culture, aka UBOK). In the mid-1950s Jindřich Chalupecký and Václav Bartovský work here. Becomes a member of the applied art creative group Balance.
1952
Included in the II. Regional Center of the Union of Czechoslovak Graphic Artists, Umělecká beseda, in the section of applied arts.
1953
In Boštík’s studio, takes part in the first confrontation between the works of artists Václav Boštík, Jiří John, Adriena Šimotová, Stanislav Kolíbal, Vlasta Prachatá and Daisy Mrázková.
1958
The Textile Studio, of which he was a member, won the Grand Prix at the Czechoslovak Pavilion at the World Exhibition in Brussels. Trip to Brussels.
1959
First solo exhibition in the Aleš Hall of Umělecká beseda in Prague. The exhibition is prepared by Václav Bartovský. Trip to Paris with the Institute of Fashion and Design (ÚBOK).
1964
Solo exhibition at the Václav Špála Gallery in Prague. Jiří Mrázek exhibits abstract paintings. The exhibition was attended by the American Lee Freeman from Chicago, who becomes his lifelong collector. Thanks to his support, he is able to leave his job at ÚBOK and pursue freelance work. Trip to England.
1965
Wins important awards at tapestry exhibitions in Menton and Liège.
1967
Mrázek's tapestries are awarded a gold medal at the Czechoslovak Tapestry Exhibition in Prague.
1968
Trip to the United States.
1970
Solo exhibition at the Platýz Gallery in Prague, organized by Ludmila Vachtová.
DAISY MRÁZKOVÁ
★ 1923 Prague ✚2016 Prague
1938-1942
Studied at the Teacher’s Institute in Prague.
1942
Passes the exams at the School of Applied Arts in Prague. Studies at the State Graphic School in Prague for several months. Attends evening drawing courses by Emanuel Frinta
1943-1944
Studies in the studio of prof. Antonín Strnadel. Meets Jiří Šindler and Václav Boštík. With the help of friends, she prints the manuscript Canticum trium puerorum.
1944
Marries Jiří Mrázek. Spends a year in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands in Březiny.
1940s and 1950s
The Mrázeks move to an apartment on Sekaninova Street in Nusle. Daisy Mrázková focuses primarily on her three children, born between 1945-1949. She is unable to continue her studies at the School of Applied Arts. Meets Václav Bartovský. In the second half of the forties she devotes herself to wood engraving, and in the fifties primarily portraiture.
1953
Takes part in the first confrontation in Boštík’s studio among Václav Boštík, Jiří John. Adriena Simotova, Stanislav and Kolibala, Vlasta Prachatická, Jiří Mrázek. The exhibition becomes one of the impulses for the creation of the UB12 Group.
1957
At a poetry evening (Josef Červinka lectures on Morgenstern’s poems in Hiršal’s translation) she presents her works for the first time in Umělecká beseda.
1961
First solo exhibition entitled Portraits (together with Vlasta Prachatická) in the Hall of People’s Democracy.
60’s
Paints landscapes with fragments of figures and faces and gradually comes to abstract works. In addition to working on paintings, she also writes and illustrates books for preschool children. In the field of children's books, during the sixties, she is an important writer and illustrator. Her illustrations and free painting are closely related and influence one another.
1964
Trip to England.
1969
Solo exhibitions in the Václav Špála Gallery. Exhibits abstract images.
VLASTA PRACHATICKÁ
★ 1929 Staré Smrkovice near Hořice
1945
Attended the Secondary School of Stone Sculpture in Hořice, where she worked under the guidance of prof. Jaroslav Plichta (student of J. V. Myslbek). She passes the exams (at the age of 16) at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in the studio of prof. Otakar Španiel. Her classmates are Marie Uchytilová-Kučová, Milan Knobloch, Jan Mathé, Jan Kulich. Lives in Prague with her aunt, wife of cellist prof. K. P. Sádla.
1951
Completes her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts. Meets Stanislav Kolibal through whom she becomes acquainted with Jiří John, Adriena Šimotová, Jiří Mrázek, Vladimír Janoušek, Věra Havlová-Janoušková. The National Gallery in Prague purchases her sculptural portrait Mother.
1952
Begins work in the studio at Nad Královskou oborou 23 (until 1962).
1953
Marries Stanislav Kolibal. Birth of daughter Markéta.
1956
Birth of son Paul.
1957
Takes part in the Exhibition of Five Artists in the Aleš Hall of Umělecká beseda in Prague.
1967
Takes part in the Exhibition of Five Sculptors in the Václav Špála Gallery (Kmentová, Pacík, Prachatická, Vinopalová, Zoubek). Exhibits at the Sculpture Biennale in Middelheim (Belgium).
1969
Wins the competition for a portrait of Jan Masaryk for the entrance hall of the Czernin Palace of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czechoslovak Republic. However, due to the change in political conditions, the bust is never displayed. Works on a portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven for the Castle Hradec nad Moravicí.
1970
Creates a commemorative plaque for the composer J. B. Foerster for his house in Vienna.
ODLŘICH SMUTNÝ
★ 1925 Debř near Mladá Boleslav ✚2013 Putim
1938
Mother is dying.
1937-1944
Studies at the Real Gymnasium in Mladá Boleslav. Drawing is taught by Pravoslav Kotík and Bedřich Mudroch.
1945
Studies drawing at the Technical University in Prague. Passes the exams for the School of Applied Arts in Prague.
1945-1950
Studies in the studios of Professor Jan Bauch at the School of Applied Arts (since 1946 at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design). Alois Klíma and Václav Kiml are his classmates. Meets Stanislav Kolíbal.
1949
Father is dying.
1950
Graduates from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague.
1951-1954
Studies stage design at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in the studio of prof. František Tröster.
1952
Designs the stage setting for The Bartered Bride. During his work he discovers the landscape of South Bohemia, which has become his permanent inspirational source. Becomes an assistant professor in Tröster’s studio at DAMU.
1955
Marries pianist Žofie Kresáková. Builds a house and studio in Putim, South Bohemia, where he regularly lives and works.
1957
Trip to Greece and the GDR.
1958
Trip to Brussels.
1959
Trip to Italy and the Soviet Union.
1960
Trip to Italy.
1962
Stanislav Kolíbal introduces Oldřich Smutný to the artists of the UB12 Group. Invited to participate in his first exhibition in the Gallery of the Czechoslovak Writer.
1968
Appointed associate professor at the Academy of Performing Arts. Visits France for the first time and subsequently goes every year. Designs and creates stucco for the interior of the Czechoslovak Embassy in London.
1970
At the World Exhibition in Osaka collaborates on the interior design of the Canadian Pavilion.
JIŘÍ ŠETLÍK
★ 1929 Prague
1940-1948
Studies at the Czech-Russian Gymnasium and at the Real Gymnasium in Prague Michle.
1946
Joins the Social Democratic Party.
1948-1952
Studies art history at the Prague Philosophical Faculty under prof. Antonín Matějíček, Jan Květ, Jaromír Pešina and the aesthetics of Jan Mukařovský. After the merger of the Social Democratic Party with the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia he becomes a member.
1950-1954
Military service.
1956-1958
Research assistantship at the Institute of History and the theory of Art of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.
1958-1964
Becomes head of the collection of modern art at the National Gallery in Prague. Together with his colleagues he prepares exhibitions of Antonín Slavíček, Jan Preisler, Josef Kaplický, Otto Gutfreund and others. Participates in the concept of a permanent exhibition of modern art in the National Gallery and in the preparation of a Czech exhibition for the World Exhibition in Brussels. In 1964 is compelled to leave the National Gallery. Accepts the position of editor-in-chief of the journal Umělecká práce.
1964-1968
Elected chairman of the theoretical section of the Union of Artists. Is a member of the editorial board of Fine Art magazine. Is a member of a team of workers preparing the World’s Fair in Montreal. Lectures externally on art history at the Academy of Fine Arts and at the University of November 17th. Contributes art reviews to Literární noviny and Plamen. Appointed a member of a working team to prepare the World Exhibition in Osaka.
1967-1968
Six-month scholarship in the United States.
1968
Appointed director of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, where he participates in the new organizational structure.
1970
Expelled from the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, deprived of all functions and public activities. Works as a construction technician at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague.
ADRIENA ŠIMOTOVÁ
★ 1926 Prague ✚2014 Prague
1941-1942
Studies at a private graphic school in Prague under prof. Jaroslav Šváb.
1942-1945
Studies at the State Graphic School in Prague under prof. Richard Lander and Zdeněk Balaš. Concurrently, Jiří Mrázek, Daisy Troníčková-Mrázková (for only a few months), Jiří Šindler, Vlastimil Berger, Dagmar Hejdová, Jiří Chadima study at this school.
1945-1950
Studies at the School of Applied Arts in Prague (since 1948 at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design) in the studio of prof. Josef Kaplický. Her classmates are Jiří Mrázek, Jiří John, Jiří Šindler. Jiří Mrázek introduced her to Václav Boštík.
1950
Admitted to the II. Regional Center of the Czechoslovak Union of Graphic Artists, where she meets Václav Bartovský and becomes close friends with Věra Janoušková and Vladimír Janoušek.
1953
Marriage to Jiří John. Thanks to Václav Boštík, Jiří John acquires a studio at Nad Královskou oborou 15, where Adriena Šimotová also works. Takes part in the first confrontation of the works of artists Václav Boštík, Jiří John, Stanislav Kolíbal, Vlasta Prachatická, Jiří Mrázek, Daisy Mrázková in the Boštík Studio. The exhibition becomes one of the impulses for the formation of the UB12 Group.
1957
Participates in the Exhibition of Five Artists in the Aleš Hall of Umělecká beseda in Prague.
1959
A trip to Paris with the Institute of Housing Culture. Creates pictures of lyrical abstraction.
1960
Birth of son Martin. Solo exhibition (with Věra Janoušková) in the Hall of People’s Democracy in Prague.
1965
Independent exhibition in the Gallery of the Czechoslovak Writer in Prague. From this collection is selected a number of monotypes and gouaches for the Biennial in Sao Paulo and the International Biennial of Youth in San Marino.
1967
Participates in the International Biennial of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana to which she regularly contributes until 1983. Creates paintings and drawings close to the style of new figuration.
1968
Independent exhibition in the Václav Špála Gallery. Trip to Paris with Jiří John to attend the exhibition of Josef Šíma at the Musée d’Art Moderne. Meets Josef Šíma.
1969
Trip with Jiří John to Paris, where she again meets with Šíma in his studio.
1970
Independent exhibition in the Václav Špála Gallery. Gold medal at the International Biennale of Graphics in Florence.
ALOIS VITÍK
★ 1910 Mimoň ✚1972 Prague
1929-1934
Studies at the School of Applied Arts in Prague under prof. Arnošt Hofbauer. In the 1930s he draws on cubism, fauvism and expressionism, and later on surrealism. He travels to France, Germany, Switzerland, Yugoslavia and Italy, and also visits the Soviet Union.
1943
Becomes a member of Umělecká beseda. In the 1940s and 1950s, he creates figurative paintings with urban themes, close to the poetics of Group 42. Exhibits with artists who later found Group 42 in 1940 at the E. F. Burian Theater in Prague.
1947
First solo exhibition in the Salon of Graphic Works in Prague.
1952
In the salon of the Union Center of Umělecká beseda he meets Vladimír and Věra Janoušek, who introduce him to the circle of artists of the future UB12 Group. In the second half of the 1950s he arrives at abstract painting.
1959
Exhibition in the New Hall in Prague.
1960-1972
Teaches at the Secondary School of Applied Arts in Prague, Žižkov.
1965
Solo exhibition in the New Hall in Prague.
1968
Solo exhibition (together with Věra Janoušková) at the Art Gallery in Karlovy Vary.
1969
Solo exhibition in the Jaroslav Král Gallery of the Brno House of Arts.
JAROMÍR ZEMINA
★ 1930 Přední Ždírnice (Trutnov district)
Spends his childhood and adolescence primarily in Znojmo and Brno, where his father Otakar Zemina works as an academic painter and teaches at secondary schools. Returns to his home village repeatedly throughout his life.
1942-1949
Studies at the classical gymnasium in Brno, with a one-year break at the end of the war, when he was forced to attend a Real Gymnasium in Jičín and Nová Paka.
1949-1953
Studies art history and classical archeology at the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University in Brno.
1953-1954
Works as an assistant in the Department of Art History in Brno. After six months he is removed from his position for ideological reasons.
1954-1956
Undergoes basic military service in several places in Bohemia and Slovakia, finally as a topographer.
1957
Is a founding member of the creative group Brno 57.
1958-1959
Unable to get a permanent job in Brno. Works in the Regional Museum of National History in Tišnov.
1959-1961
Employed as a specialist at the Institute of Art Theory and History of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague.
1961-1968
Admitted to the National Gallery in Prague, the collection of modern art, which he directs until 1965. In 1963 he prepares a comprehensive exhibition of Jan Zrzavý and the book The World of Jan Zrzavý. In 1966 he is curator of the exhibition of Czech cubism and the collection of Vincenc Kramář at the Musée national d’Art Moderne in Paris, in 1968 in Great Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
1964
Joins the UB12 Group.
1967
In cooperation with Stanislav Kolíbal prepares an exhibition of contemporary Czech and Slovak art for the Societá Promotrice di Belle Arti in Turin.
1970
For ideological reasons he resigns as the head of the modern art collection of the National Gallery and is transferred to Zbraslav, where he supervises the depository. Besides working in the National Gallery, he also prepares exhibitions of unofficial Czech and Slovak art.
Based on biographical data of the members of UB12 up to 1970 in: SLAVICKÁ Milena. UB 12 - Studies, interviews, documents. Prague: Gallery in cooperation with Gema Art a o.s. OSVU, 2006, pp. 306-311