Sopko Jiří *1942

Smile, 1977

acrylic, board, frame, 60 × 44,5 cm, signed bottom right SOPKO 77
Since the 1960s, Jiří Sopek's paintings have been among the the most expressive manifestations of Czech new figuration and absurd grotesque, characteristic for the Central European area. Jiří Sopek's distinctive painting and coloristic talents Sopek absorbed various influences, especially British Pop Art. In the early days of the influence of Belgian expressive symbolist artist James Ensor, particularly in his expressive and vibrant colour palette, with his signature short brushstrokes and focus on the darkly grotesque panopticon of humanity. Sopko's work has always had a link to the current social situation and responded to it with critical commentary, existential angst, ironic sarcasm, but also affectionate humour. The central theme of his works was man, often transformed or mutated into the form of animals. This is the case of the offered work The Pied Piper from 1977, which depicts a half-human, half-animal figure, perhaps in a moment of transformation. While the lower, more subordinate part of the body remains human, the upper half, with all its controlling organs, is now in the form of a rat. In the 1970s, at a time when Sopko was virtually incapacitated to exhibit and work publicly, his work took a turn towards a more solid outline of his characters, whom he portrays with derision but also with understanding and at the same time the oppressive absurdity of the times and the deteriorating social situation. Human heads begin to appear in the paintings without bodies, which are manipulated in various ways or have a look of horror and screams on their faces, as in the offered painting entitled Smile (1977). Here there is also a motif that Sopko repeated several times. They are broadly smiling mouths, which unite the lips of five human heads into one mass grin. The collective laughter reflects the undoubtedly hypocritical and forced situation in society that is terrifying in its hilarity. Jiří Sopek's paintings from this period are highly sought after and are usually part of gallery collections.