Felix Slováček’s Girlfriend, Lucie Gelemová, Launches Herself into Politics
Felix Slováček, the husband of Dáda Patrasová, is really being exemplar in his support for his young girlfriend Lucie Gelemová. Not only did he accompany the artist to the grand opening of her exhibit, but even took care of the musical score. And that was in spite of the fact that the walls were not decorated by his pictures but instead by the images of famous international politicians…
Lucie recently completed her studies at the Art&Design Institute. And to celebrate this occasion, she organized a large-scale exhibit – already her seventh, but the first one to take place in Prague. The venue was the Bez Zábradlí Theatre.
The seventy works include paintings, drawings and graphics
They include portraits of presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump; that is also what most of the visitors were interested in. “I’m not really all that into politics, and I certainly don’t want to give preferential treatment to any side in my paintings; however, I do admire strong persons who have their own opinions and can think outside the crowd and do something on their own,” said Lucie. When asked why she drew a halo over Putin’s head, she said: “I don’t know, it’s my subconscious at work.”
Lucie did not find much inspiration among Czech presidents yet
Currently she only has a portrait of Václav Klaus. “I also have a similar strong opinion of our previous president, Mr. Václav Klaus. In fact, I even had the honor of personally giving him his portrait during his visit in Uherské Hradiště, in the Joži Úprky gallery (in 2016). That was a great experience for me.”
Today’s president can also look forward to a portrait. “I’m planning to draw a portrait of our president Zeman in the near future; I was wishing him luck during the presidential election,” said the artist. However, she said that she has no plans at the moment to do one for Václav Havel. “I currently don’t feel the need to draw him a portrait.”
Personal sympathies are very important
“When painting someone based on my own choice (i.e., not for commissions), personal sympathies are very important for me – I need to like his nature, thoughts, actions, job and so forth. These sympathies, qualities, can of course also be present for people who are seemingly not as interesting and “normal”,” explains Gelem, who is well aware of what society wants – a portrait of a public persona, perhaps even a controversial one for some people.
However, religion is also an important topic for Lucie Gelemová. “The Moravské Slovácko fund, which supports young artists and with which I’ve been collaborating some time now, also contacted me regarding the creation of graphics related to the topic of holiness; I then handed these over to the archbishop in Olomouc, Jan Graubner – during the opening of a new exhibit with pictures of the crusade by Joža Uprka,” explained Lucie, who then added that the graphics depicted a crucifixion.
Lucie also painted nudes
One time she even admitted to having painted her boyfriend nude, several times in fact. After all, being nude is not something people should be ashamed of, and certainly has its place in art. That was also confirmed by Jiří Hlušička, prominent art historian and critic. People from all over the Czech Republic came to see the exhibit. The exhibit is organized by Martin Chylík and it was hosted by artist Jan Brabenec.
The exhibit in the theatre be open until the end of February.
