Šimotová Adriena 1926–2014

Letters and Dreams, Šimotová - Rilke, 1994

bibliophilia, colour etching - 4 pcs, handmade paper, 17,6 × 12 cm, signed. UD Adriena Šimotová, print no. 50/100, handmade paper box

Bibliophile edition of the texts Letters and Dreams of his of his favourite poet Rainer Maria Rilke has been accompanied by Adriena Šimotová with four graphic sheets created using the vernismo technique, which allows for soft toning and subtle light transitions. Emerging figures or parts of the body and face capture the intimately experienced human states, whose strong emotionality through the vagueness and obscurity of the scenes. The illustrations here form a complementary pair with a facsimile of Rilke's handwritten letters printed on tracing paper. Link of image and writing that interact with each other refer to and interpenetrate each other, creates one visually impressive whole. For the illustrations Šimotová won the Award for Outstanding Accompaniment at the Most Beautiful Books exhibition in 1994. Illustration has formed an integral part of her lifelong Šimotová's lifetime work; she has consistently since the 1980s. For illustration she chose authors and titles that appealed to her and harmonised with them. These were mainly works focused on the existential human experience. and the bodily, intimate psychological states of the human being. Šimotová approached illustration as a free-form work and used the same techniques and processes, such as scratching and tearing paper, frottage or prints.