Bio

Jiri Anderle was born in Pavlikov, Czech Republic, on September 14th, 1936. Anderle studied painting and printmaking at the Secondary School of Applied Art and the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague from 1951-1961. Throughout the 60’s, Anderle worked with the Black Light Theatre founded by Jiri Srnec. He toured with the company through Europe, Australia, Africa and America. While on tour, Anderle’s work was exhibited for the first time at the Guests of the Hollar Association exhibition in Prague. He first began seeing contemporary 20th-century art at museums in Edinburgh and London. During 1964, Anderle studied the ethnic art of the Australian indigenous and tribes of Oceania in Australian museums. This study was a major influence on his own work. Anderle married Milada, a former fellow student and member of the Black Light Theatre company.

In 1966, Anderle had his first solo exhibitions at the Liberec Regional Gallery and the Gallery on Charles Square, Prague. Anderle was part of the “Current Trends in Czech Art” exhibition held for the AICA Congress in Prague. During 1967, he participated for the first time in the International Biennial of Prints in Ljubljana, Slovania and his first solo exhibition abroad at the Galerie in Centre, Gottingen, Germany.

In 1969, Anderle began to work with the Jacques and Anne Baruch Gallery in Chicago in the USA, which would subsequently organise exhibitions and promote his work throughout the USA. Between 1969-1973 Anderle worked as an assistant to professors Jiri Trnka and Zdenek Sklenar at the College of Applied Arts in Prague (Prints and Illustration). While working as an assistant during 1972, Anderle attended a Francis Bacon retrospective in Dusseldorf which made an unexpectedly strong impact on him. In 1979, he was further impressed by the Pablo Picasso retrospective in Paris.

Anderle taught at the Summer Academy in Salzburg during 1986. He took his first short trip to Chicago to attend the 30th anniversary of the Jacques and Anne Baruch Gallery during 1997. In 1998, Anderle began work on the cycles “At the Close of the Century” and “At the Close of the Millennium”.

Jiri Anderle lives and works in Prague, the Czech Republic.