Žáková Monika

Monika Žáková (*1987) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in the painting studio of Jiří Sopko. During her studies she spent placements at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Dresden and in the studio of the visiting professor Jan Merta at the Academy. In 2014 she came third in the Critics' Prize for Young Painting. Over time she moved from classical painting to an exploration of different materials and the relationships between them. She often combines canvas and paper, but also works with aluminium and sheet metal, or conversely with fragile plaster. Canvas nevertheless remains her primary medium: she folds and crumples it and then uses colour to bring out the creases. Instead of brushstrokes she works with the play of light and shadow cast by the shapes she has pressed into the fabric. She has taken part in a number of group exhibitions. In 2021 she had a solo exhibition at Bold Gallery in Prague, and two years later at the Aleš South Bohemian Gallery.