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Acrylic on canvas. “Calligraphy of the Jungle” offers a plethora of subjects from the Peruvian primeval forest, where painter Otto Placht settled in 1993. After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (1982-1988) under Professor Paderlík, he worked as an assistant at the academy for Jiří Načeradský, traveled throughout the United States and lectured at Florida International University in Miami. Since 1993 he has become especially known for his large paintings inspired by his repeated several-year residences in Peru and the Upper Amazon. His art is strongly influenced by the artistic expression of the indigenous inhabitants of the rainforest. He settled in the “outskirts” of the forest, near the city of Pucallpa on the Ucayali River, where he also married and started a family. His interest in shamanism and experiences with visions caused by a plant-based drug (ayahuasca) also appears in his work. Placht has exhibited in galleries around the world and his works are included in domestic and international collections, including the MDC Collection in Miami and the National Gallery in Prague. In 2014 Otto Placht held a successful exhibition at the Špála Gallery in Prague.