František Bílek

Tvůrce 1905, Holland paper, woodcut 
Original reprint limited edition 9/30 2018

The exhibition of prints and printing blocks offers a closer view of the graphic art by the sculptor František Bílek. Bílek used wood, his most favorite sculptural material, in the technique of woodcut, on which he focused after 1905 and in which he carried out most of his prints. His virtuoso way of working with the structure of wood, as evidenced by the details of printing blocks, enhanced the dramatic character of his woodcuts, whose expressive blackand-white language based on the contrast of light and shadow allowed him to capture the transcendental spiritual light. For Bílek, the symbolism of light was essential; he elaborated on it in theory as well as in the process of creating his entire multilayered oeuvre. Some of his prints are accompanied by individual words or the whole text, through which Bílek communicated his relativem complicated messages both in graphic art and his other works. Words are in the form of a stylized ornamental Gothic typeface, incorporated into the border of printing plates. 
LINK František Bílek Centre Prague