Last month Magdalena Říčná opened her new exhibition in Brno, Czech Republic. The opening took place on a beautiful Tuesday, many nice people came and the pictures and graphics of my friend, Magdalena were really magnificent. She is a very modern person and so she is trying new techniques. Lenka had there a series of pastels with an African theme—large black papers with African dancers impressively portrayed; she is nearing abstract art and expression. She also exhibited winter landscapes and some works from Italy and the Highlands. I shared my admiration of her work with her with some short words, as I‘m not a historian of art. It was more of a personal connection, but I think that we understood each other. Afterwards, we were sitting with other friends, drinking wine and singing till two in the morning, so I felt a bit younger again.
After recieving practical training in design and advertising, she engaged mainly in advertising graphics. Besides the corporate identity designs, she made a series of book jackets, graphical layouts of books including illustrations (e.g. songbook of the Ulrych siblings “SONGS”, Easter in the Czech Folk Culture, European Christmas in Folk Culture, A Year at a Castle), and dozens of CD covers (JABLKOŇ, BROLN, children’s choir Kantiléna, Hradišťan, Javorník Brno and series of musical records for the publisher Jiří Plocek: GNOSIS BRNO, ART PETRA, Radioservis).
Currently, she is interested in liberal arts. She likes aquarelle in combination with linear drawing and handwritten script. She also uses the technique of embossing in her illustrations and some of her graphic prints. Her art is often connected with architecture. She designs and graphically adjusts sign systems; she also arranges sacred space interiors.
According to aquarelle models, she created large textile panels for the exhibition hall of the Mendel University in Brno. Another implementation of architecture is the altarpiece of St. John of Nepomuk (an aquarelle converted to a glass mosaic) for the chapel in Mezříčko. In 2007, according to her design, the lower part of a set colourful stained glass windows was implemented in the apsis of a romanesque basilica in Třebíč.
Since 1982, she has been regularly organising exhibitions of her works in many cities (like Prague, Brno, Znojmo, Lysice, Boskovice, Náměšť nad Oslavou, Mikulov, Oslo, and Stockholm). Her graphic works were selected for the International Exhibition of Graphic Design in Brno and they are represented in the art collections of the Moravian Gallery in Brno. We can find her artworks and graphic prints in private collections both in her homeland and abroad (Austria, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, England, the USA, Australia).
http://www.magdalenaricna.com/en/
A report from Czech Republic by Kristina Cerni