2024-07-03 21:51:47
Painter and author of children’s literature Alois Mikulka died last Thursday at the age of 90. This was announced by gallerist Roman Kalina, an admirer and collector of his work. The versatile artist became famous primarily as a creator of books for children, but he also offered adults a world full of imagination, exaggeration and grotesque.
Alois Mikulka was born on August 13, 1933 in Brno. He studied in the monumental painting studio of Ján Želibský. He wrote and accompanied with drawings four dozen books for children and young people, for example About a deer with a machine gun, Pacička and hares, Little Red Riding Hood in camouflage or Superman and bears. He also illustrated about fifty works for other writers. He wrote several plays, created for radio Hajaja. In 2014, the Albatros publishing house awarded him a prize for his contribution in the field of literature for children and young people.
The artist’s nineties last year were commemorated by an exhibition at Kalina Gallery in Brno. It consisted of 90 oil paintings and dozens of other works, mainly drawings and illustrations. Works created from the 1970s to the recent past were borrowed by the gallery from the author or from private collectors. “Alois Mikulka always had a unique concept, a style that was not subject to anything and no one. He created his own world. All his life he did what he wanted and what he enjoyed,” gallerist Kalina said at the time. He also admired Mikulek’s versatility and sense of humor.
Mikulka’s work influenced several generations of children, his typical pictures inspired other artists as well. A few years ago, for example, a production based on his fairy tales about animals entitled Aby se děti divily premiered in Brno. “His world has such a special wildness and mischievousness, but also tenderness and joy,” director Zoja Mikotová said at the time.