Lot 193

Magdalena Jetelová (1946) AN OPEN BOOK

The unique object called Opened Book is a very rare collector's example of the early work of the world-renowned Czech artist Magdalena Jetelová. After completing her studies at the Prague Academy, she clearly defined herself against the official scene by participating in several exhibitions. From the beginning, her works were close to landscape and land art, which became significant for her, especially after her emigration to Germany in 1985, where she still lives today.  Her strength lies in her sensitivity to expanding space and her passion for the sculptural dimension of architecture. This distinctive handwriting can be read, for example, in the early wooden window objects created in the late 1970s. In the context of these works, the offered work Open Book can also be included, which allows two levels of view, two worlds - the external and the internal - to merge in an analogous way. The rich texture of the paper is juxtaposed with a working, subtly carved piece of wood, highlighted by a crack across the material. From 1990 to 2004 she taught at the State Academy of Art in Düsseldorf, and since 2004 she has been a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. After the revolution, she was a consultant to the Prague Castle Council for three years, and in 1993 her installation was exhibited for the first time in the Czech Republic in the Belveder in Prague. The work comes from the important collection of Jiří Šetlík.

Published:

Šetlík, J., Vrba, T.: Jiří Šetlík: Provázejí mne životem. Muzeum umění a designu Benešov, 2019. str. 74