They said about the autor

František Chrástek

Objects (2007–2023)

František Chrástek (*1953) belongs to the generation of photographers who entered the art scene in the early 1980s. After graduating from FAMU in 1981, where he was trained by several prominent theorists and photographers of his time, such as Ján Šmok, Pavel Štecha, and Jaroslav Rajzík, he spent a few short years educating young talents at the School of Applied Arts in Brno before he fully decided to go freelance. His creative potential was thus divided between commissioned work and free creation. In his free work, he attempted to apply both the knowledge acquired during his studies and the experience from his previous practice as a teacher and cinematographer. Thanks to Štecha, he discovered the intensity and power of photographic narration; Rajzík enchanted him with brilliant studies of light and material in photography and still life. These inspired one of Chrástek's first series, Blue (1987–1998), which consists of a series of very loosely connected geometric compositions. Initially, Chrástek utilized the possibilities of color-layered composition of flat or transparent materials levitating against a backdrop of previously photographed sky (Geometric Abstraction, 1986; Picture According to Malevich, 1987; Blue in Arc, 1992, etc.). Later, from the early 1990s, his compositions simplified, eliminating the combination of contrasting environments. Overall, the image calms down, figuratively returns to the studio, and begins to follow the path to abstracted light composition (Edge of Light, 1992; Blue Shadows, 1994, etc.). By the end of the 1990s, there was a definitive transformation of the formal color-compositional principle towards a more personal content and its narration (e.g., White Dragonfly, Icarus on My Wall, Cracked Mountain, all 1998), emphasized by color and light. Almost parallelly, from the late 1980s, the Red series (1987–2005) was created. Compared to Blue, it is earthier, more material, more sensual. Here, Chrástek quickly moved from measured composition to pure material study, often freely inspired by the informal painting of the 1960s. He discovers the potential of textures (cracks, scratches, and grooves) of glass panes, old wood, organically shaped animal skeletons, and also the environment of the old studio (rough walls, worn floor). After 2000, a significant red signal also began to appear in his nudes, which until then had been created in a very cultivated black and white form (Nudes series, 1980–2003). The period between 2003–2008 in Chrástek's work was filled with a series of self-portraits. In them, he creatively turned the lens against himself, creating a series of studies in which he worked with fragments of his body more than with the face or body as a whole object. The series of self-portraits allowed him not only to apply new techniques and experiences from previous series but also to delve deeper into his psyche, into the psychology of a man at the halfway point of life. In the early images of the series, the author still made extensive use of the symbolic power of red in combination with an X-ray image (e.g., Intimate Self-portrait, Turbulence, both 2003; Self-portrait of Hands, 2005, etc.); the use of mirrors proved essential. Later, from around 2006, the intensity of color was suppressed, and the focus shifted to the body and its parts, made distinctive by objects. These often introduced a disturbing tone of something sharp, dangerous, warning into the image space (Hand with Red Tip, Circular Saw, Hand under the Weight of a Stone, all 2007). On the other hand, hope and faith can be found in photographs, working purposefully with the absence of things, where the space previously reserved for them is replaced by the mass of light (Touch of Light, Clasped Hands, both 2007). Recently, images such as Black Self-portrait (2007) and Self-portrait with Three Fingers (2008) were created, where almost the entire surface of the image is filled by a dark mirror surface emerging from the darkness, behind which the author hides, only partially revealed to the observer, yet naked, exposed without the protection of clothing or the support of symbolic objects. For the audience, this can be a general comment on the mental state at an important moment of human life, for the author, then a catharsis and visual expression of inner emotions in the form of an irregular photographic diary. From 2007 to the present, a collection simply titled Objects has been created. It consists of a series of still lifes created in an old studio in the suburbs. The series can be seen as the culmination and synthesis of Chrástek's work to date. In the extensive collection, he capitalizes on his long-term work with light, a sense for color, image structure, and composition of objects. He projects and records his life experiences into inconspicuous assemblies, symbolizing personal dramas, yet with a strong emotional resonance. His photographic skills are then directed towards creating a perfect illusory image, situated on the uncertain edge between traditional and photographic image. With subdued, unreal, or perhaps surreal colorfulness, he increases the emotional impact visually and content-wise of stories that are not only about the visual or aesthetic possibilities of photography but about the world that has surrounded him all his life since childhood. His still lifes may seem static at first glance, assembled from nonsensical or unaesthetic elements. Yet, they arouse interest and become a visually compelling subject for a story, whether highly personal, understandable in a close circle, or alternatively general, broadly comprehensible. Similar to the Dutch Golden Age, stories in still lifes were told in the language of the time, and most objects had a symbolic, often now unknown meaning to us. For example, pearls symbolized virginity and hourglasses mortality. So, in Chrástek's still lifes, through titles, one can partially understand and unveil their real history (e.g., Black Cuboid, Doors, all 2013 or Still Life with a String, 2018, etc.) or simply perceive the photographs as symbols of transience, of loss and finding, of reminiscing and reinterpreting one's own past. A broken preserving jar (Connection, 2013) can be, as Gertrude Stein would say, just a jar. But sometimes an ordinary thing can become something else. The jar can be at the core of a story about a broken relationship, an old suitcase will tell about a long-deceased person, a yellowed sheet of paper about a lost letter from an ancient ancestor. Many of these photographic stories are dramatized by extraordinary lighting of the scene. After all, around 2018–2020, light not only becomes a powerful narrative medium that can shape the mood and overall tone of the composition but the subject of the photographic image itself. And the author handles it delicately and carefully. Using baroque chiaroscuro, he creates compelling images emphasizing the mysterious content and three-dimensional quality of images in a two-dimensional plane (e.g., Light in Destruction, 2018). The author thus figuratively returns to the roots of his creation and pays homage to the magic of photography, capable of painting and telling stories with light.

Štěpánka Bieleszová

Whenever I "encounter" your photographs, I realize how lucky I was that you became a student at FAMU and thanks to you, that it made at least some sense to be a teacher.

Jaroslav Rajzik.

Accompanying program to the Summer Film School at the Slovácko Museum.

Throughout the next week, the spaces of the Slovácko Museum Gallery and the main building will be filled with hot gallery novelties. As part of the Summer Film School, three exhibitions will be opened in succession. The gallery space will be refreshed with photographs by František Chrástek and Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, and in the main building in Smetana's Parks, poster art for Ingmar Bergman's films will be featured. František Chrástek is among the prominent figures in the circle of contemporary art photography. To Uherské Hradiště, he brings for the third time a collection of precisely processed shots with a distinctive signature. This time with subdued colors. "When I was a lad, the creation was blue. With new knowledge and a view of the world, I moved on to red tones, and now I have focused on monochromatic expression with a confessed minimalist color accent. The exhibition Fragments In/Out is full of stories from an old room, an old environment, where I found inspiration for creation," described František Chrástek his collection of large-format photographs with still life themes, which will also be expanded by a dozen views of the landscape from trips across the USA. 

Pavel Princ, Uherské Hradiště, 2018

Light, dust, and the threshold of mystery

Concurrent with the start of the Summer Film School in Uherské Hradiště, from June 26th, an exhibition of photographs by former FAMU student František Chrástek is open at the Gallery of the Slovácko Museum there. His large-format artifacts in subdued tones inadvertently awaken the question of where the boundary between photography and painting actually lies. Against a finely structured gray wall and on a faded wooden floor lightly enveloped by worn annual rings, these images, permeated with melancholy, capture solitary objects. A piece of rotting beam, a board of dust-covered glass, a dried branch from a tree covered with lichen, a sheet of broken and frayed plywood, a blind mirror... All detailed down to the micro-detail - as on the canvases of Jan van Eyck. The light, coming from somewhere - now from the side, now from above - onto those old, God knows why discarded things, literally sanctifies them: it returns their long-lost beauty, lifts them from the plane of objects to the plane of symbols, breathes mystery into them. An old tailor's dummy full of dust and cobwebs shines in that golden light as if it had just descended from a Baroque altar, a rusty dry bush, thanks to the trembling living light on its branches, evokes the association of the burning bush from which the voice of the One who is... was heard. The world of these purified images - photographic poems is a world of light and dust, unchanging constants of our transient existence. Their worn, dirty things are permeated with soul. They become a metaphor for the fact that only decay and death open the gateway to eternity. Their author, František Chrástek, who recently celebrated his sixty-fifth birthday, made his name at the start of his professional career with abstract compositions, whose minimalist inspiration was transformed by the energy of red and blue areas. He exhibited all over the world, collectors of his artifacts can be found in the USA and Japan. The photographs from the impressive landscape he experienced in the USA form the second part of his exhibition in Uherské Hradiště titled Fragments In/Out. They too possess the power of a symbol. And just like the still lifes, created in an old house in the suburbs of his native Uherské Hradiště, they are permeated with mystery. In them too is reflected the path the photographer has taken from the labyrinth of the world to the paradise of his heart. The treasures he found on this journey can be viewed in Uherské Hradiště until September 9th.

Bronislav Pražan - Praha, Týdeník Rozhlas, 2018

František Chrástek is among the recognized figures in the field of contemporary Czech art photography. His work can be divided into landscapes, figure studies, and composed still lifes in its gradual development. Each of these focuses demonstrates the author's inventiveness, unique treatment of inspirational templates, and professional precision in creative intent and selection of the best result. He perfectly masters the technical medium of the photographic device in all its successive phases, but he also adds deep content or a suggested possible story to the form.

His strong suit is working with light, whether naturally flowing or originally transferred through various materials, achieving unexpected effects of rich intensities and surprisingly directed angles of light paths, or spatial transformations - from reality to imaginative dreaminess. In this, František Chrástek is not only an excellent photographer but primarily a perfect magician who can grasp light and transform it into an enchanting and cooperative medium. It is no coincidence that his works recall the ancient baroque illusion of mystique while also serving as effective statements. He is also interested in leaving room for viewers to unleash their imagination, personal visions, and subsequent experiences. He does not want to bind them to the work with his intention but gives them the freedom to interpret the content of the work on their own.

Another positive is that he does not seek attention in current trends. Quite the opposite, he selects forgotten places where, along with the space, discarded objects - once beautiful and functional, now unsightly and unnecessary - have lived out their time. These are the most attractive models for him, with which he gets acquainted and works. They are a challenge for him to at least momentarily revive and bring them new meaning or even a new story.

Another admirable ability of František Chrástek is his sensitivity for minute details, whether it be a devastated wall of an abandoned house or a view of an unusually shaped landscape. With these details, he can work in variously captured shots, which ultimately come across almost exploratory.

In summary of all evaluations, it is necessary to emphasize that František Chrástek's photographs transcend the boundaries of their discipline and reach the level with which we perceive images created by classic painting techniques. These views and reactions unite all supporters of Chrástek's work. Numerous exhibitions not only in the Czech Republic, in several European countries (Austria, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Germany), in Japan, and in the USA, are a testament to the author's abilities, great ideas, and objective comparison in the context of contemporary world art photography.

Mgr. Marie Martykánová, art historian and exhibition curator Slovácko Museum, Uherské Hradiště, 20

František Chrástek transcends the boundaries of photography In response to the question of whether photography can approach a painted image, František Chrástek answers with his large-format works. But at the same time, he poses new questions. Primarily, whether such convergence is desirable and functional. However, Chrástek tackles the issue in his own way, incorporating his own visual procedures, trying to balance between abstract suggestion and specific naturalism. He knows that the best way to engage with an artwork is through encrypted mystery. If everything is clear at first glance to the observer, there's no need to search further or ponder anything. But that's not a risk with Chrástek. His photographic images, full of aggressive red color, inserted symbols, celestial blue, and ordinary objects in surprising contexts, simply don't allow it. Each represents a personal stop but also a confrontation with one's own imagination. It's really surprising how an ordinary object can play an aesthetic role when properly placed in space. For example, an old tin bathtub in which children were bathed once a week in the kitchen (the Objects series) looks like a postmodern sculpture in the baroque twilight of the interior. And as a delicate detail that always underscores the overall impression, two red fish chasing each other inside in the water. Besides visual inventiveness, Chrástek also places a lot of emphasis on the artistic craftsmanship of his ideas. In some cases, he goes far beyond the boundary of photography deep into the territory of classic oil paintings. He even competes with famous baroque masters, such is his feel for light and shadow. Elsewhere, he pays tribute to modern painters of cubism or abstraction. He works with provocative colors and shapes so that at first glance, it's actually unclear what kind of art it is. However, the photographer has turned this ambiguity to his advantage. The fact that he blurs the line between classic painting and artistic photography is fully utilized for the benefit of the matter. He knows how to do it so as not to beat around the bush and not create art for art's sake. Photo description | Photographer František Chrástek knows how to combine the seemingly incompatible (Wire-enclosed Sky, 1989).

Photo PRÁVO - Jan Šída, 2014

Zlín Daily (Culture)

Chrástek's exhibition ends this weekend Uherské Hradiště

This weekend offers the last opportunity for visitors to the Slovácko Museum Gallery in Uherské Hradiště to see the exhibition of photographs by František and Lucie Chrástkový. The photographer from Uherské Brod, František Chrástek, presented a collection of his recent photographs in the gallery. Compared to his previous work, they are atypical, with subdued colors. "They contain autobiographical elements; some photos even include my X-ray images. They also express an awareness of matter, a search for things. A search for oneself and what comes after death. The question of faith," the author reflects. The exhibited collection also features Chrástek's photographs from an earlier period, dominated by red color. "Red is a symbol of birth, fire, the creation of the universe. But also of sexuality, that color simply stimulates," says the author. Last year, František Chrástek made his mark with a lavish photographic publication Zlín Region: Images, showcasing the most captivating places of the region. He is now preparing an exhibition in Uherské Brod, which will present him in a somewhat unconventional light. It will display his photographs from travels around the world. Lucie Chrástková, the daughter of František Chrástek, prepared a series for the exhibition in Uherské Hradiště titled The Scent of Plum Jam, in which she tells the story of an old abandoned interior in a unique and suggestive way, where forgotten objects and a melancholic atmosphere remain after the people.

Regional edition| Mladá fronta DNES - South-East Moravia Author: (jar)

UHERSKÉ HRADIŠTE SLOVÁCKO, MUSEUM GALLERY Otakarova 103

Exhibition Photography - Lucie Chrástková, František Chrástek until April 13th.

The author's presentation of current photographic work features František Chrástek (*1953) and his daughter Lucie (*1980) in an interesting confrontation and approaches to finding inspirational themes and personal statements. F. Chrástek is a proven creator in the field of art photography, and his mature work belongs to the circle of high-quality Czech art production. In thematic selection, he moves within the limits of personal statements about human feelings linked to references to subjective experiences, philosophical reflections, myths, religious symbolism, to cultivatedly processed erotica emanating from the human body. L. Chrástková is a young author searching for her path in a broad perspective on human existence and the necessary space. For this exhibition, she created a series Following the Scent of Plum Jams and processed an imaginary story about the passage of time. In her shots, she documents the residual essence after living out and exhausting the role of interiors or various objects left behind by their users. She moves on the border of testimony, memories, and so-called imprints of existence. Forty works by L. and F. Chrástkový are an exclusive spectacle in the field of art photography, crossing the boundaries of territory and time.

Marie Martykánová, Uherské Hradiště, 2008

The creative evolution of František Chrástek is a strong current of ideas, moving from one work to another without falling into the stereotype of authorial exhaustion. In the various phases this artist has gone through, which he continuously advances in an upward trajectory, we find new motifs, perspectives, and magnificent magic with light, shapes, and space. From formerly almost puristically clean geometric figures, he gradually took over much more lifelike templates, which he led in various variations, cutouts, shape and spatial confrontations, connections, and interpretations, to the very edge of magical content and interpretation. Much has already been written about Chrástek's work, dozens of exhibitions have brought numerous responses about the originality of creative expression.

Not so long ago, photography was viewed with skepticism, without considering the same necessary dose of artistic skill as is naturally perceived in painters, graphic artists, and other creators. However, the development in this discipline has advanced in an unprecedented leap, and we can speak without hesitation of no less distinctiveness and inventiveness in this field if a particular work engages us. It no longer holds that anyone who sees and has any camera is capable of photographic production. The development and attention to this expression have proven that only a truly creatively gifted person can create a work that is valuable, meaningful, or even timeless. Such an author is undoubtedly František Chrástek. He chose a somewhat difficult path, occasionally aimed more at the contemplative and demanding viewer. His photographic images are created in a sum of precise technical execution and deep philosophizing content. Whether he deals with the confrontation of structures, a dead space with the endlessly repeating energy of incoming and outgoing light, whether he chooses models of zoomorphic origin or replaces them with worn parts of objects or various, even technical materials, works with the human body in various positions or details, we always find broad connections full of emotions, ideas, and fantasy. If we wish, we can find connections with our own experiences, thoughts, and also our subjective view of the world within the spectrum of rational and emotional perception.

František Chrástek is a type of thoughtful creator who inserts a wide range of possible themes into his inspirational stimuli. He transforms various shape compositions into seemingly different contexts, not shying away from references that are completely simple, everyday, and those that have influenced civilization for centuries (erotica, myths, Christianity, etc.) In his artistic statements, he deals with the insurmountable law of passing time, the symbolism of the constant change of life and its end (in a figurative sense, this applies not only to living beings but also to inanimate objects), the unidentifiable feeling of laws superior to our perception. Adding to this the execution itself, we often find ourselves standing in front of Chrástek's photographic images in surprise, metaphorically flipping through our consciousness, recalling what it reminds us of or where we have encountered a similar scene. Often we may not find the answer, but we leave these works full of impressions and impulses for further reflection on ourselves and the world around us.

František Chrástek has found his style and his way of modern communication, which is partly based on ancient cultural sources, to then be able to respond and process current perceptions in a temporal connection.

Chrástek Prepares Exhibition in Zlín

Zlín - Photographer František Chrástek from Uherské Brod is currently preparing his solo exhibition in Zlín. In the Alternativa hall, he will display more than thirty large-scale color photographs that showcase his work over the last twenty years.

"Still life has long been among Chrástek's main themes. However, he also finds inspiration in Czech art of the sixties and existentialism," said manager Darja Musilová. The exhibition in Zlín will start on September 7 and will last until September 30.

Chrástek divides his work into three creative periods: black and white, blue, and red. Art historian Aleš Kuneš, who has been a long-time admirer and critic of Chrástek's photographic achievements, has previously stated that the author models the color stylization of motifs to a distinctive signature. In his creation, he also emphasizes technical perfection and likes to work with light moods. He creates images using the traditional analog method of capturing and processing on large-format slide film.

The fifty-three-year-old photographer lives and works in Uherské Brod. He has exhibited his works not only in the Czech Republic but also in Poland, Japan, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany. He has prepared more than 25 solo author exhibitions.

Aleš Kuneš, Prague, 2006

FRANTIŠEK CHRÁSTEK

"Just slightly shift the perspective, and immediately the colors and stripes of the spectrum change," wrote Czech émigré now living in Paris, Věra Linhartová, in her novella "Space for Differentiation" (1964). František Chrástek, despite the compactness of his work spanning three decades, truly permeates a surprisingly wide spectrum. He continually uncovers new circles of motifs and is an attentive explorer of remote areas, without losing sight of the previous and subsequent relevance to the whole. And all this ranges from strictly ascetic moderation in the transformation of staged still life to images of almost baroque refinement with strangely interpenetrating forms. The author maintains in all these oscillations a consciousness of clear and distinct order. The swirling movement here connects to a deeper and more mysterious entitlement with the universal human uncertainty towards something clear and liberating. Classical and perfected technological procedures of large-format photography (especially color inversion) in the era of the rapid advent of digital photography are not an end in themselves for Chrástek. Among technically high-quality prints, created either by traditional or digital means of capturing and processing, most viewers today would probably find it hard to spot the differences. Yet, the difference exists in many respects and ultimately may remind one of the different sound and unique charm of a vinyl record compared to music stored on a good MP3 player. Or otherwise: the nearly perfect possibilities of modeling electronically processed images have also caused the medium of photography to lose something of its "alchemical" essence, something of the dramatic uncertainty of developing a latent image on film in the darkroom. But let's return to the beginnings of the photographer's inspirations, found in the black and white female nudes. They contain the basic framework of everything Chrástek processes much more consistently in subsequent work. Interest in characterizing the volume of form, in positioning the figure in an implied space, in light, and in thoughtful and consistent arrangement of tonalities in the final image. Although the photographs are very ingeniously staged, we still perceive the naturalness of the specifically defined shooting location as programmed by the author. The ability to subsequently create a new space even within a studio setting is defining for the creator. In connection with individual opuses, their titles are often very important as well. On one hand, "Homage to the Square," "Square According to Malevich," "Definition of Space," "Diffusion of Red," "Path of Light," and quite different "Study of Despair," "Anatomy of the Head," or "Monoceros." In this brief list, we perceive a surprisingly fluid range of motifs from pure abstraction to its direct antipole in refined transformations of mannerism or baroque symbols (very characteristic styles for old Czech art). Christian symbols and concepts in the contexts of corporeality (e.g., Crucifixion or Red Christ) are undoubtedly inspired by part of Andres Serrano's work. The "sexuality" of red, from which matter flows, the female legs of Crucifixion illusionistically radiate sacred light. The canvas imprint or Shroud evokes in recent years, in relation to photography, the often allegorically mentioned western cult icon "Veil of Veronica." The mystery of the "Turin Shroud" with the negative imprint of Christ's body can be interpreted on a symbolic level as "the first photographic image." However, Chrástek also finds inspiration in Czech concrete art of the sixties and existentialism ("Photography for Franz Kafka," "Picture According to Dorian Gray"). Unlike photographs from this period, however, he works almost exclusively with color. The color stylization of motifs is modeled by the photographer into a distinctive signature ("Imaginary Red," "Interference of Red," "Blue Pyramid"). The thoughtful record of apparent motion in images, a motion that simultaneously rises and falls, unfolds, protrudes, and recedes, is ultimately an expression and tool of modus vivendi, based on a precisely formulated belief in the physiology and functioning of the forces of the world in its unfathomable totality. For many years, the main focus of interest for František Chrástek has been the modern conception of the still life genre. The center of his work are images of specific, fundamentally simple props in staging, details, surprising cutouts, and original lighting methods. In these images, the original objects lose their meanings and concentrate much more elusive, transcendental things. The photographer seems to touch upon indefinable natural forces and the basic biological realities of man, and of course, traces of regular or rhythmized overall movement in nature. Dominant are image compositions with simple shapes, minimalist compositions utilize subtle tonal transitions and impressive light contrasts ("Curved Light," "Beam of Light"). Often, in the very choice of motifs, impulses appear in free interpretations from the realm of visual arts - especially painting (e.g., "Square According to Malevich /1987/"). The consistency, complexity, and respect for the "law of good shape" with well-organized form in Chrástek's work is never directed towards any effective decoration but is more an interpretation, incantation, evocation, and perhaps even quiet repose. In a similar vein is the intimate Self-portrait of Hand, into which as if were imprinted pain and loneliness, abandonment, action, belonging, good and evil simultaneously. Light and color open up not only the erotic and sexual symbolism of the images but also their antipole. And that is the limitation of lives as we understand them. Mystery deepens with the mystery we experience within ourselves, which opens up to us. In his work after 2000, the author turns to the tradition of the still life genre (from French literally dead nature, but in visual arts means any still life). Roland Barthes in one of his essays claims that photography is always permeated with the image of "vanitas" (Latin for vain effort) and its essence is transience. Vanitas-type still life belonged primarily to baroque painting. Latent and temporally transformed inspirations in baroque are now discovered in a number of Chrástek's latest shots (Study of Despair - vanity, Post morte, Monoceros, and others). They are connected by an extraordinarily delicately balanced coloration, the bizarreness of some shapes, the refinement of counterpoints between individual objects, complex allegorical symbolism of hints, and at the same time surprisingly simple means by which the author constructs this world of amazement and illusions of the "baroque theater." The more dramatically the time space is concentrated at some moment, the more intensely we feel and experience it, the more sharply we realize finiteness. But at the very end (just like at the beginning), I will once again borrow a quote from Linhartová from the mathematical definition. Because it wonderfully relates to the work of František Chrástek: "The whole is infinite if it enters entirely and unequivocally into any of its parts." Aleš Kuneš, Prague, March 2006 "The images of František Chrástek bring many experiences, knowledge, and questions, are a unique statement about life and the world. Also, the established coloration in prevailing shades of red has its significance in terms of the author's profile and signature. This too is a significant characteristic of the artist's artistic opinion."

Marie Martykánová, Zlín, 2006

Ladies and gentlemen, I have had the pleasure of following the photographic work of František Chrástek for many years. And believe me, he surprises me with something new every time. He is the type of creator who, once he achieves a sense of satisfaction from a successful piece, immediately tries and searches for other possibilities for further advancement. However, he is by no means a random experimenter seeking cheap visual effects. He carefully thinks through, analyzes, and processes his ideas in various versions to find the one closest to his feelings and intended expression. Although I am not particularly fond of the word perfectionist, and the person with this label scares me with the revelation of my possible imperfection, in Chrástek's case, I cannot avoid this term. His works are indeed precise, not only in terms of content but especially in terms of technical execution. Surely, those who engage in photography and can appreciate the capture of authorial professionalism will agree with me.

František Chrástek calls his photographs images, which most people associate with classical painting techniques. An occasional viewer could even be misled into thinking that these are not purely photographs but that additional enhancing inputs were used. However, what you see is indeed the result of a single discipline. In summary, we find a perfect knowledge of light effects stemming from the understanding of one of nature's greatest phenomena, light in all its intensities and nuances. Adding to this the author's aesthetic sense for composition in anticipation of the basic idea to utilize the unique moment for the necessary angle of light rays and in harmony with the used materials, one cannot but acknowledge the success of harmonious connection.

František Chrástek has walked a long and demanding path in his creation. Many years have passed since his graduation from FAMU in Prague. He went through a phase of classically understood nudes to find interesting inspiration in geometrically arranged still lifes in the second half of the 80s. Perhaps the most admired work of this period is "Square According to Malevich," which is a perfect example of professional integration of shape and space. In this spirit, the author proceeded in further variations and increasingly bold combinations. He multiplied geometric shapes, arranged them into special formations to seek and find a new dimension. Gradually, however, these airy, motion-filled schemas moved to the interior backdrop of a completely different space. František Chrástek felt the need to convey a deeper meaning, which can be described as intimate imagination, albeit in a cultivated connection with real space. He confronted smooth geometric shapes with a structured background to gradually move to an even more expressive expression. He found places where time and human existence left their marks in the form of destructions and worn-out wear. Shots of this type are emotively conceived in an expressive connection between the past and the current present. The theme of life and its transience in connection with time, through which light passes, became a rich source for František Chrástek's further intentions. Geometric vocabulary gradually turns into more lifelike formations and utilizes not only utilitarian or zoomorphic objects but gradually incorporates the human body or its parts into his compositions. In natural maturation, he feels the need to seek parables, whose original meaning we could find in many mythological or philosophical sources. And just as every person occasionally reflects on the meaning and transience of life, the artist, in his self-realization, sorts his thoughts, albeit with the gift of artistic processing. However, František Chrástek goes even further in his reflections. While in his previous phases he conveyed feelings from the visually perceived surface, then in the following time, he penetrates through the so-called body and material cover. He reveals the person in a bold transparency to the inside, crossing the seemingly solid cover of our bodies and with his own emphasis, reminds us of our archetypal essence. Each of us has our identity, and it is not just the superficial image of the figure. In schematic layout, we are a composition of ingenious connections that together form hard-to-define relationships between real and subconscious actions or deeds. The interpretation of Chrástek's works has many possibilities, depending on which angle of view we choose. They are works that excite our imagination, and in the right disposition, we find many symbols associated with life in the broadest sense. And if there is something mysterious in Chrástek's work, then it is the connection between rationality and abstraction. In the color spectrum of this creative effort, shades of red prevail. As an art historian, I will not discuss this in terms of the physical laws of the light spectrum; I am closer to the interpretation of psychological meanings. In this, red is perhaps the most active in terms of various perceptions, imaginations, and effects. However, Chrástek's blues, which also have their significance in his works, cannot go unmentioned. In recent years, the author has not shied away from introducing other color shades, though he keeps them as flashes within the limited boundaries of imaginary light alchemies. František Chrástek presents himself at this exhibition with a selection of older and completely new works. This is also his characteristic trait, that he wants to surprise. Besides new themes, he also comes with large formats, which in matte execution further enhance the impression of painting techniques. What in the past appeared as secondary layering of space suddenly attacks our senses with vigorous intensity, without us losing sight of the central motif. In multifaceted balance - form, background, light, he further plays and provokes our senses. As I said at the beginning, František Chrástek has a long creative journey divided by individual stages of his effort. His work has already been introduced to visitors of many Czech and foreign galleries. If I am not mistaken, he has exhibited as far as Japan. And without exaggeration, I think he would quite "fit" in Paris as well, because he has something to present. I wish you to leave this exhibition pleasantly attuned and with a head full of interesting thoughts. Opening of F. Chrástek's exhibition - Identity

Alternativa, Zlín, September 7, 2006 Introduction by Mgr. Marie Martykánová

"For many years, the flagship of František Chrástek's work has been the modern conception of the still life genre. His inspiration could initially be found in both Czech and international abstract art. Photographs of specific, fundamentally simple props in staging, details, surprising cutouts, and original lighting methods lost the meanings of the original objects and concentrated on much more elusive, transcendental things.

Light and color, besides opening up the erotic and sexual symbolism of the images, also reveal their opposite. And that is the limitation of lives as we understand them. Mystery deepens with the mystery we experience within ourselves, which opens up to us."

Marie Martykánová, Uherské Hradiště, 2004

FRANTIŠEK CHRÁSTEK 700 nm 

The propagation of light (so crucial for photography) can be described using the theory of electromagnetic wave propagation. The wavelength is the distance between two successive wave crests. Most photographers operate in the range from 380 to 780 nm (i.e., in visible light). Photographer František Chrástek is found almost exclusively among those longer waves. This does not mean a stormy ocean (a nanometer is 10 to the minus ninth meter), but the author's "light signature" over time has stabilized on "absolute red" (as one of his recent exhibitions was aptly named) at a length of about 700 nm.

For many years, the flagship of František Chrástek's work has been the modern conception of the still life genre. His inspiration could initially be found in both Czech and international abstract art. Photographs of specific, fundamentally simple props in staging, details, surprising cutouts, and original lighting methods lost the meanings of the original objects and concentrated on much more elusive, transcendental things.

Here, Chrástek, perhaps intuitively, reaches a position known more from the Eastern tradition of creation than from the European tradition. I would not dare to venture into a brief excursion into the history of Japanese art-historical thinking on the occasion of the photographer's Japanese exposition, yet, in my opinion, certain correlations can be seen.

Consider the term "yūgen," which frequently appeared in old Japanese poetic manuals, where "yū" meant "dim, dark, hidden" and "gen" then "dark, black." The compound then meant "depth and mystery, mysteriousness." If in Chinese thinking from the Tang dynasty it meant deep as a contrast to superficial or banal, in Japan, it was always, in my opinion, an aesthetic term. Fujiwara Mototoshi defines "yūgen" as a mysterious, indefinable mood. The simplicity and emphasis on a specific detail along with the reflection of one's fate in the sense of the vanity of human endeavors is what brings Chrástek closer to some directions of traditional Japanese art. In the latest author's work, we find beauty in what bears traces of fading, obsolescence, what has lost its original gloss, what is referred to in Japan by the word "sabi" - abandoned, worn by age, rusted, faded. "Sabi" signifies the weathered aspect of things. And in later definitions, "yūgen" emphasized the element of mystery and indefinability. "It is utterly impossible to explain the marvelous beauty of yūgen" (Shōtei monogatari, book 16). In this suggestiveness and evocation, traditional Japanese poetics approach the poetics of modernity. Also in Japanese tradition, we encounter the surprising courage to end the image where, from our perspective, it should barely begin. The effectiveness of the suggestion is increased by affecting all our senses, growing from the context of the overall atmosphere. "If we say everything, what remains?" once said to his student, the Japanese poet Bashō.

However, Chrástek is primarily a Czech photographer, and his initial sources are found primarily in the region of Central and Western Europe. In his latest concentrated work (created over the course of this year), he turns in many new aspects to the genre of nature morte (from French literally "dead nature," but in visual arts means any still life). Roland Barthes in one of his essays argues that photography is always permeated with the image of "vanitas" (Latin for vain effort) and its essence is transience. Still life of the vanitas type belonged primarily to Baroque painting, which has a great tradition in the Czech lands. Latent and temporally transformed inspirations in Baroque are now discovered in a number of Chrástek's latest shots (Study of Despair - vanity, Post morte, Monoceros, and others). They are connected by an extraordinarily delicately balanced coloration, the bizarreness of some shapes, the refinement of counterpoints between individual objects, complex allegorical symbolism of hints, and at the same time surprisingly simple means by which the author constructs this world of amazement and illusions of the "Baroque theatre." Although many of these approaches seem in direct opposition to the Japanese perception of the aesthetics of shapes, I think there was never a fear of irregularity - on the contrary, it was always a completely natural part of creation. The more dramatically the time space is concentrated at some moment, the more intensely we feel and experience it, the more sharply we realize finiteness.

Christian symbols and concepts in the contexts of corporeality (e.g., Crucifixion or Red Christ) are undoubtedly inspired by part of Andres Serrano's work. The "sexuality" of red, from which matter flows, the female legs "Crucifixion" illusionistically radiate sacred light. The imprint of the canvas or the Shroud evokes in recent years, in connection with photography, the often allegorically mentioned Western cult icon "Veil of St. Veronica." The mystery of the "Turin Shroud" with the negative imprint of Christ's body can be interpreted on a symbolic level as "the first photographic image." On a different plane is led the intimate Self-portrait of Hand, into which as if were imprinted pain and loneliness, abandonment, activity, belonging, good and evil simultaneously.

The consistency of the chosen system in the selection of motifs, in their stylization, rhythmization, and subsequent distribution seems to be a measure of the urgency of the respective statement and opens to viewers the notion that all these signs encode a primary experience difficult to communicate. Although František Chrástek uses fundamentally simple props in his still lifes, his creation touches upon indefinable natural forces and the basic biological realities of man and, of course, traces of regular or rhythmized overall movement in nature - movement of ourselves, water, clouds, fire, and cosmic bodies. From these circles seems to emerge also the pregnantly defined coloration of the resulting prints (in "basic" red and blue). The author's pictorial statements obviously cover a much wider segment of reality, but the artistic order is undoubtedly understood as isomorphic with the order of the microcosm and macrocosm.

The thoughtful record of apparent motion in images, motion that simultaneously rises and falls, unfolds, protrudes, and recedes, is a fundamental characterization of two decades of the photographer's work. In the end, it is an expression and tool of modus vivendi, based on precisely formulated conviction about the physiology and operation of the forces of the world in its unfathomable entirety.

Stability from the initial direction in the field of large-format static photography in Chrástek's work is conditioned by the regularity and uniformity of changes. Imaginative color still lifes are balanced by subjectively captured landscapes as well as black and white, and later also color nudes. Dominant are image compositions with simple shapes; in minimalist compositions, the author used subtle tonal transitions and impressive light contrasts. Often, inspiring impulses appear in free interpretations from the realm of visual arts - especially painting (e.g., Square According to Malevich /1987/). Consistency, complexity, and respect for the "law of good shape" with well-organized form in Chrástek's work is never directed towards any effective decoration but is more an interpretation, incantation, evocation, and perhaps even quiet repose.

In the foreground of Chrástek's images, we primarily perceive the ability to balance between "empty" and "full" and the dynamics of individual parts of the composition, which are rearranged, exchanged, and reassembled similarly to in an assemblage. Also notice one thing: in all variations, the direct direction of movement and diagonal orientation often remain. Most of the shapes captured by the photographer seem to be quite concrete memory records (although they are not first-level naming of individual segments of personal everyday life). Elementary geometric shapes, which occur in nature only rarely, have a significant position in his work. The main motif is underscored by an extremely precisely and cleanly composed background, from which it is highlighted by a contrastingly smooth surface (Homage to the Square /1992/ or Red Square /1994/).

Only occasionally does one of the configurations resemble animal or human corporeality, stylized mask, or face from a totem (White Dragonfly /1998/, Icarus on My Wall /1998/, Grimace /1987/). Nonetheless, it cannot be said that the photographer consistently renounced metaphorical meanings (in the chronological sequence of creation, let's name at least Inferno /1992/, Something We Cannot See /1994/, Edge of Darkness /1996/, and Analysis of Penetration /2000/, but many others remain). They remind more of variability in the author's private act of magic or metamorphosis during shooting than usual pictorial metaphorical communication.

A part of the author's work now follows up on older black and white shots of female nudes from the early 80s. In color prints, Chrástek consistently adheres to the basic characterizing features of the traditional genre, the poses of his models are led with almost Ingresque observational precision. Strict austerity and staticness are disrupted by light, which here seems to open up the erotic and sexual symbolism of the images (which can, after all, be latently discovered even in many older still lifes). In the act Provoking Red from the turn of the century, it connects echoes of the original creation with the current one. The diagonal orientation of the female body (which further intensifies the dynamics) consistently models the moment with its own rhythm in the flow of time. The moment in which, as a result of many forces, perhaps human existence is constituted. Or even more pointedly in another shot, the suppressed and indefinite corporeality of the model in red tonality is a mystery. The light-accentuated expression of the face seems to give our troubled journey through the world a personal characterization of meaning.

Light and color, besides opening up the erotic and sexual symbolism of the images, also reveal their opposite. And that is the limitation of lives as we understand them. Mystery deepens with the mystery we experience within ourselves, which opens up to us.

September 14, 2003 ALEŠ KUNEŠ

"The work of František Chrástek is created using pure photographic techniques. Its imaginary effect is the result of thoroughly conceived and arranged lighting, reflecting the author's refined sense for compositional order and the harmonization of individual elements within the pictorial space. The result is works of brilliant artistic photographic quality, which constitute a significant individual contribution to the treasury of our contemporary art photography."

Jaroslav Pelikán, Uherské Hradiště, 1998

"When I first saw the works of František Chrástek, I thought, very sincerely, this person does not want to have anything to do with reality. Is it total abstraction, or just dealing with reality differently, in another way, elsewhere? Is there a connection to the somewhat detached abstract painting of the 30s? Then I saw his commercial photographs and realized that he sees reality as well as few of us can. He is able to accept it, comprehend it, define it, simply "make" it. Chrástek's photographs are at first glance meticulously austere. However, this is their great strength. There is no excess, nothing unnecessary. We are perfectly concentrated on the pure relationships of color and shape. František Chrástek has a rather unique position in our photography. The way he works with a pure plane, simple shape, and color accent is quite exceptional, the ability to abstract and discover the "primal form" is not so common or easy. The further development of his work will undoubtedly be very interesting."

Martin Hruška, Praha, 1994