Lot 123

Gabriel Urbánek (1914 - 1985) EVOLUTION

Gabriel Urbánek’s work as an artist stood alongside his original profession as a physician. Although he was briefly trained as an artist at the Ukrainian Academy in Prague, after completing his secondary school education he decided to study medicine at Charles University (1933-1939). Following the hiatus in his medical career caused by the war, he was able to return to the Professor Vančura Clinic. He combined his work as a doctor with research, and for a short time he also headed the spa in Teplice. Even with this exacting work, he always devoted part of his energies to his artwork – he practiced drawing, as can be seen in his portraits of friends – believing this to be an integral part of his self-realization. In art he identified most with the spirit and forms of avant-garde art movements from the interwar period. His last solo exhibition was held at Nová Síň in 1970.