Tomas Rajlich

Tomas Rajlich (born 1940 in Jankov, Czechoslovakia) studied at the School of Decorative Arts and the Fine Art Academy of Prague. Originally trained as a sculptor working in a geometric vein, he founded the avant-garde group Klub Konkretistů in Prague in 1967, oriented toward the international neo-avant-gardes represented by Azimut in Italy, ZERO in Germany, and Nul in the Netherlands. In 1968 his work was first presented internationally at the exhibition Sculpture Tchécoslovaque at the Musée Rodin in Paris. Following the Soviet invasion, he went into exile from Czechoslovakia in 1969, moved to the Netherlands, and became a teacher at the Vrije Academie in The Hague. His interest in monochrome works constructed on geometrically regular grids was immediately well received within Dutch conceptualism. In 1975, Rajlich was included alongside Brice Marden, Robert Ryman, and Gerhard Richter in the landmark exhibition "Fundamental Painting" at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, a milestone event for the international affirmation of analytical painting. He held major solo exhibitions in 1974 at Yvon Lambert in Paris, Art and Project in Amsterdam, and Francoise Lambert in Milan. His first retrospective was presented by the Palazzo Martinengo, Brescia, in 1993. His adoptive country, the Netherlands, awarded him the prestigious Ouborg Award in 1994. From 1999 to 2002 he was artist in residence at the MNAM/Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. He currently lives and works in Prague, Czech Republic, and near Verona, Italy. Rajlich's works are held in major public collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and the National Gallery in Prague. He has also received commissions for monumental canvases, including works for the Council of State in The Hague and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Accra, Ghana. He is recognized as a leading figure of the international neo-avant-garde.