Jiří David is one of the most distinctive representatives of contemporary Czech art. The rare diversity and richness of his oeuvre won him a brilliant reputation in his country and abroad. His areas of interest include painting (he was one of the co-founders of the Tvrdohlaví / Hardheads group in 1987), mixed media art, especially photography, installations and realizations in the public space. David’s approach is characterized by a considerable degree of personal involvement as he seeks to convey a major message of up-to-date socio-cultural and political problems of his time. David’s major works of art include, among others, Hidden Image (1991-95), a cycle of manipulated photographic portraits of major figures in art, culture, politics, science and sport, which examines specific features of human face as a carrier of multiple identities by using anthropological and psychological studies. In his series of digital photographs titled No Compassion (2002) David challenged one of the gender stereotypes – he suppression of the emotional expression of crying in male politicians. David’s two generous realizations in the public space also aroused public attention. One of which was the neon Heart at the Castle (2002), an iconic artwork highlighting the symbol of heart, which was part of Václav Havel’s personal signature and an emblematic expression of his policy. The other was an object-assemblage called Revolution (2010) made of more than 85,000 keys expressing the artist’s polemic with the society’s development twenty years after the Velvet Revolution. David regularly exhibits in the Czech Republic and abroad and his works are represented in the collections of many prestigious institutions (including the National Gallery in Prague, Prague City Gallery, Moravian Gallery in Brno, Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art in Budapest, Museum of Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig in Vienna, Art Institute of Chicago, Arco Collections Madrid and others).

Education and Assignments

Since 2004 Head of intermedia and conceptual art studio at Academy of Art, Prague, Czech Republic

Since 2011 intermedia and digital art media lecturer at Academy of Banská Bystrica, Slovak Republic

1995 – 2002 Head of visual communication studio at Academy of Art, Prague, Czech Republic

1987 – 1991 Member of Tvrdohlaví art group

1982 – 1987 Studied at Academy of Art, Prague, Czech Republic

Public Collection

Galleria Nazionale d´Arte Moderna San Marino

Ludwig Museum Budapest, Hungary

National Portrait Gallery London, United Kingdom

Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Vienna, Austria

The Art Institute of Chicago, USA

National Gallery in Prague, Czech Republic

Wannieck Gallery Brno, Czech Republic

Galerie hlavního města Prahy, Czech Republic

Galerie Benedikta Rejta v Lounech, Czech Republic

Galerie Klatovy/ Klenová, Czech Republic

Galerie výtvarného umění v Hodoníně, Czech Republic

Galerie výtvarného umění v Hradci Králové, Czech Republic

Moravská galerie v Brně, Czech Republic

Muzeum umění Benešov, Czech Republic

Muzeum umění Olomouc, Czech Republic

Oblastní galerie v Liberci, Czech Republic

Oblastní galerie Vysočiny v Jihlavě, Czech Republic

Východočeská galerie v Pardubicích, Czech Republic

City Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic

Gallery of Moravia, Brno, Czech Republic

Tufts University, Boston, USA

ARCO Madrid Collection, Spain

Selected Solo Exhibition

2018 Esse Quam Videri / Being, not appearing, Kunsthalle Košice, Slovakia

11 Steps to Heaven, China Czech Contemporary Art Museum, Beijing, China

Closer to the night…, curated by Michal Novotný, Futura, Prague, Czech Republic

2017 My Skin is Porcelain Again, curated by Michal Novotný, Topičuv salón, Praha, Czech Republic

2016 Apotheosis, National Gallery in Prague, Czech Republic

2015/16 Tête à Tête, National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic

Prequel, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, Russia

2015 Apotheosis, Czech and Slovak Pavilion at the 56th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Giardini – Arsenale, Venice, Italy

Redundant Earth from the Grave, ZAHORIAN&co GALLERY, Prague, Czech Republic

2014 Stenchs overlap, but do not disappear, Gallery of City Plzeň, Czech Republic

Jiří David, Andy Hope 1930, Florian Meisenberg, Václav Špála Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic

…timelessness Time = Nothing Actually Happens!, Gallery La Guern, Warsaw, Poland

2013 BABOON SHRIEK, Galerie Hlavního Města Prahy, Colloredo – Mansfeld Palace, Prague, Czech Republic

2012 The Heart Above Europe, European Parliament, Brussel, Belgium

Love, object in public space, Prague, Czech Republic

PRO A PROTI / PRO UND CONTRA, GAVU, Cheb, Czech Republic

Too light…Vertigo…Panic…Stendhal Syndrome…Local Anaesthesia…Geopornography, ZAHORIAN&co. GALLERY, Prague, Czech Republic

2011 Řekni mi své jméno, dvorac sec contemporary, Prague, Czech Republic

2010 Kohinoor-15.min.film, Cinema Mat, Prague, Czech Republic

Exhibition is (no)t…,Salon Academy of Fine Arts, Warsow, Poland

Revoluce, object at public space of Prague, Czech Republic

Maadha Kai?, Madadayo!, Galerie Páte patro, Prague, Czech Republic

2009 No Compassion, Projektraum Wien, Austria

2009 Touch my Head, Wyspianski pavilion 2000, Krakov, Poland

2008 When Hell Freezes Over, Dominik Art Projects, Krakov, Poland

2006 Fifth Seal, Sacharov centrum, Moscow, Russia

2003 Sober Minded, Gallery FUTURA (s Annika Larsson), Prague, Czech Republic

2002 Heart on the Castle, neon instalation, Prague, Czech Republic

1997 Meine Geissein, Gallery Anita Neugebauer, Basel, Switzerland

1996 Hidden Image, Zamek Ujazdowski, Warsow, Poland

1995 Hidden Image, Jack Tilton Gallery, New York, USA

1992 Galleria Monti Pio, Roma, Italy

1991 Forum Stadtpark, Graz, Austria

1990 Edition Arlelier, Graz, Austria

Selected Group Exhibitions

2018 Viennacontemporary, represented by ZAHORIAN & VAN ESPEN, Vienna, Austria

2017 New / Newly Discovered, Le Guern Gallery, Warsaw, Poland

Tugendhat 1, with Jiří Kovanda and Roman Ondak, curated by Martin Dostál, Vila Tugendhat, Brno, Czech Republic

2017 Eye Ichnography, with Milan Adamčiak and Milan Grygar, curated by Jiří Kovanda, ZAHORIAN & VAN ESPEN, Prague, Czech Republic

2016 – 2017 Jiří Kovanda and the (Im)Possibility of Collaboration, National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic

2016 Václav Havel’s portrait, The National Museum of History, Moldova

2016 Frieze Art Fair New York, represented by Le Guern Gallery, New York, USA

2016 ARTEFIERA, represented by ZAHORIAN & VAN ESPEN, Bologna, Italy

2016 Interior, Le Guern Gallery, Warsaw, Poland

2015 2nd Biennal of Artists in Haus der Kunst, Munchen, Germany

2015 ARTEFIERA, represented by ZAHORIAN & VAN ESPEN, Bologna, Italy

2015 Arco Madrid, represented by Le Guern Gallery, Madrid, Spain

2015 Artissima, represented by Le Guern Gallery, Turin, Italy

2015 Art Cologne, represented by Le Guern Gallery, Cologne, Germany

2014 Food is a central concept, Tranzitdisplay, Prague, Czech Republic

2014 Artissima, represented by Le Guern Gallery, Turin, Italy

2013 Verejný priestor inak / Public Art Days, EHMK 2013, Košice, Slovakia

2013 Inner Circle in the Contemporary Czech Photography, Municipal Library, Prague, Czech Republic

2013 Responsibility, The Vögele Kultur Zentrum in Pfäffikon, SZ/ Switzerland

2012 ANOTHER WORLD, ZAHORIAN & VAN ESPEN Bratislava, Slovakia

2012 Island of Resistance, National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic