František Skála jr.

FrSka

František Skála jr was born in 1956 in Prague. He studied woodcarving at Secondary Applied Arts School (SUPŠ) Prague, 1971 – 1975 and in 1982 graduated from the University of Applied Arts (VŠUP Prague) in film and television graphics.

He achieved his first major successes as an illustrator of children’s books, and won a series of awards in this field.

In 1995 he represented the Czech Republic with his illustrations at the Frankfurt International Book-Fair.

His comics serial “The Great Travels of Hair and Chin” was to have been made into a full feature animated film, and he worked on the project for several years although it was not in the end carried through.

Alongside illustration, from the beginning of the 1980s he began to make a name for himself as a sculptor and creator of remark­able objects and installations, and it was in this guise that he made the most lasting impression on the public. He presented his works at both solo exhibitions and at joint exhibitions with his contemporaries from the group TVRDOHLAVÍ [The Stubborn], 1987 – 1991, which brought a postmodern spirit to the arts scene of the time, and of which Skála was a founder member. He is also a real member of the secret organization B.K.S. (Bude konec světa – The End of the World is Coming), and since 1985 commander of the Order of the Green Ladybird. The scope of
his creative activities goes beyond fine art: he plays and sings in the Small Dance Orchestra Universal Prague and in the group Finský barok [Finnish Baroque]. He is a member of the Sklep theatre company and the vocals trio TROS SKETOS.

In 1990 he gained an honorable mention in Jindřich Chalupecký Award and in the following year the main award itself, founded and presented by Václav Havel. The prize carries with it a three-month residential fellow­ship at the Headlands Center for the Arts in San Francisco in the USA.

From 1992 he worked on design of the interiors of the performance areas of the Paláce Akropolis in Prague.

In 1993 he was chosen to represent the Czech Republic at the 45th Venice Biennale. He made the journey to Italy on foot and then displayed drawings from his 850-km pilgrimage and fragile objects made of articles he had found on the way in the Czech Pavilion. He has been a guest artist at art universities in Australia and the USA.

In all the spheres of creative activity in which he is involv­­ed, his work is distinctive for his exceptional feel­ing for material, sense of humor and non-speculative, positive approach to creation.

Awards

  • 1982 Honorable Mention, Festival of Czechoslovak Film, České Budějovice, Czechoslovakia
  • 1983 Honorable Mention, SFA, Varna, Bulgaria
  • 1984 The Most Beautiful Book of the Year Prize, awarded by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic
  • 1984 Second Prize of the International Film Festival, Stuttgart, Germany
  • 1988 Annual Prize of the Albatros Publishing House, Czechoslovakia
  • 1988 Prize of ČFVU, Bienále užité grafiky a ilustrace, Brno, Czechoslovakia
  • 1989 The Most Beautiful Book of the Year Prize, awarded by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic
  • 1989 Honorable Mention for Illustration, IBBY, Basel, Switzerland
  • 1990 Jindřich Chalupecký Prize, honorable mention
  • 1991 Jindřich Chalupecký Prize Winner
  • 1991 First Prize Arte Giovane di Europa, Bozen, Italy
  • 1991 Gold bow, Czech section IBBY, Prague, Czech Republic
  • 1994 Annual Prize of the Albatros Publishing House, Czech Republic
  • 2000 Annual Prize of the Albatros Publishing House, Czech Republic
  • 2002 Certificate of Honor for Illustration, IBBY, Basel, Switzerland

Film and theatre realizations

  • 1982 Oči (Eyes) – cartoon film, University of Applied Arts, Krátký film, Prague
  • 1987 Cyclops, a trick film for the performance Ulysses, Laterna Magica, Prague
  • 1995-7 Work in full-leng animated film “Great Wandering Hair and Beard”

Residencies, lectures, presentations

  • 1992 Headlands Center for the Arts, CA, USA, three-month residency
  • 1994 University of Western Sydney, Australia, artist-in-residence, one month residency, College of Fine Arts, Sydney, Australia, presentation of his work
  • 1994 University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, presentation of his work
  • 1994 Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia, presentation of his work
  • 1996 Columbia University, New York, USA, lecture entitled Shark
  • 1996 Ohio University, Athens, USA, artist-in-residence, one month residency
  • 2003 Headlands Center for the Arts, CA, USA, six-weeks on the basis of the grant Artslink Program New York
  • 2003 Czech Center, New York, USA, presentation of his work

Illustration works

  • 1983 Dvě chodské pohádky – Z. Psůtková, edice Korálek, Prague, Albatros
  • 1984 Planeta Země – P. Jakeš, Prague, Mladá fronta
  • 1984 Zapomenutá řemesla – M. Janotka, K. Linhart, Prague, Svoboda
  • 1985 Babiččin kapsář a jiné povídky – J. Baar, Prague, Albatros
  • 1987 Život – J. Drobník a kol., Prague, Mladá fronta
  • 1987 Řemesla našich předků – M. Janotka, K. Linhart, Prague, Svoboda
  • 1987 Začarovaný mlýn – A. a J. Afanasjewovi, Prague, Albatros
  • 1987 Pohádky z bramborových řádků – C. Sandburg, Prague, Albatros
  • 1989 Velké putování Vlase a Brady – F. Skála jr., Prague, Albatros
  • 1989 Pohádky Matky husy – Ch. Perrault, Prague, Albatros
  • 1992 Bratři Lví srdce – A. Lindgrenová, Prague, Albatros
  • 1994 Praha–Venezia (deník) – F. Skála jr., Wien, Verlag Pakesch und Schlebrugge
  • 1994 Královské pohádky – K. Šiktanc, Prague, Albatros
  • 1995 Velký strážce – J. Olič, Brno, Petrov
  • 2000 O dobré a zlé moci – K.Šiktanc, Prague, Albatros
  • 2001 Nekonečný příběh – M. Ende, Prague, Albatros
  • 2005 Děvčátko Momo a ukradený čas – M. Ende, Praha, Albatros
  • 2006 Pidilidi, M. Nortonová, Praha, Albatros
  • 2006 Jak Cílek Lídu našel – F. Skála,Praha, Meandr
  • 2007 Skutečný příběh Cílka a Lídy – F. Skála, Praha,Arbort Vitae
  • 2007 Žabí zámek – J. Gaarder, Praha, Euromedia group k.s
  • 2009 Hrad Svícen – K. Šiktanc, Praha, UK, Karolinum
  • 2011 Baba Jaga, kostlivá noha – A. Ježková, Albatros

In permanent collections

  • Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague
  • The National Gallery in Prague
  • Central Bohemian Gallery in Prague
  • Museum of Fine Arts in Olomouc
  • Museum of Contemporary Arts, Sydney, Australia
  • North Bohemian Gallery of Fine Art in Litomerice
  • Benedict Rejt Gallery in Louny
  • Regional Gallery in Liberec
  • Klatovy - Klenová Gallery
  • The Moravian Gallery in Brno
  • Art Gallery Karlovy Vary
  • Art Gallery Roudnice
  • Prague City Gallery