Boudník

Product detailed description

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Graphic Inventory of Boudník offers a comprehensive, lifelong catalog compiled by Vladislav Merhaut, featuring over 950 reproductions of every graphic work by Bohumil Boudník. Each piece is treated as an original, with visual comparisons that underscore his role as a solitary pioneer in Czech and international abstract experimentation.

Boudník anticipated both tachism—without exposure to American abstractionists like Pollock—and Art Informel. He coined his own “explosionism” style and staged urban happenings, all under strict post-war censorship, preserving total freedom of imagination. This volume emphasizes the colorful variants of his structural and active graphics, revealing how these prints reshape our understanding of his experimental oeuvre.

The inventory collates rare archival materials documented by Merhaut—Boudník’s lifelong friend—including sketches, proofs, and photographs often unseen outside private collections. Boudník’s legacy inspired Czechoslovakia’s New Wave filmmakers (e.g., Věra Chytilová) and writers (e.g., Bohumil Hrabal) and continues to captivate the global art world today.