Adriena Šimotová
Cleansing
Artist
Adriena Šimotová
(1926, Praha - 2014, Praha), Czech
Original Title
Cleansing
Date1969
Mediumtempera on hardboard
Dimensions 123,5 × 94 cm
Classificationspaintings
Credit LineKunsthalle Praha
DescriptionAdriena Šimotová was a prominent Czech artist whose work is shaped by an interest in interpersonal relationships and the symbolism of the human body. Her initial abstract works from the early 1960s betray influences of the international wave of lyrical abstraction but are not as marked by existentialism and are instead defined by harmony and inspiration in the outside world. Šimotová’s style underwent a momentous shift in the early 1970s due to tragic life events, particularly the death of her husband and subsequently her son, which significantly shaped her new, existentially toned work. The figure, symbolizing human existence and transience, takes various forms in her works, a development which can also be linked to the contemporary current of new figuration. As part of this shift, Šimotová abandoned conventional painterly techniques in favor of working with paper and textile, which suited her approach due to their malleability, haptic dimension, and sensory fragility. Among the characteristic techniques of her work with paper are pressing, cutting, perforation, and body prints, which she would occasionally color in blue or red. Although her topics and formal devices would not substantially change over the remainder of her lifetime, Šimotová’s older works share an emphasis on materiality, corporeality, and narrativity, while her later work is more subtle and dematerialized, pursuing a deeper spiritual impact.
This painting titled Purification (1969) depicts blue and green areas accompanied by several delicate, more organically portrayed elements, with all these shapes set on a white background. The piece was created during Šimotová’s period of visualizing moments from everyday life, in their ordinariness and simplicity, through abstracted and lyrically toned compositions. The work’s title can be understood in relation to such mundane human activities as well as to the muted visual expression of the canvas itself.
This painting titled Purification (1969) depicts blue and green areas accompanied by several delicate, more organically portrayed elements, with all these shapes set on a white background. The piece was created during Šimotová’s period of visualizing moments from everyday life, in their ordinariness and simplicity, through abstracted and lyrically toned compositions. The work’s title can be understood in relation to such mundane human activities as well as to the muted visual expression of the canvas itself.
