Bio

Self-taught artist Anna Zemánková (b. 1908 in Hodolany, Austria-Hungary, d. 1986 in Mnišek pod Brdy, Czechoslovakia) described her work as ‘growing flowers that are not grown anywhere else.’ She took up her artistic practice in the early 1960s, at over fifty years old, creating her lyrical compositions during the early hours before dawn, from four to seven in the morning, before attending to domestic duties. During this time, she created an imaginary herbarium of otherworldly organisms on paper. Her work is characterised by remarkably complex combinations of ink, pastel, perforations, threads and textiles, forming an ominously beautiful botanical world of ever-metamorphosing shapes. Roger Cardinal remarked, ‘Her sweet and docile flower paintings leave a poisonous aftertaste.’

Despite the difficulty of exhibiting publicly under the cultural politics implemented by the communist Party of Czechoslovakia, Anna Zemánková received recognition for her art during her lifetime. Notably, her works were included in the 1979 exhibition Outsiders, curated by Roger Cardinal and Victor Musgrave at the Hayward Gallery in London. While her oeuvre has long been established among the most important representatives of Art Brut, Zemánková is increasingly gaining recognition in a broader context.

In recent years, her works have been featured in exhibitions such as Foreigners Everywhere curated by Adriano Pedrosa at the Venice Biennale (2024), Outsider Art. Donation by Bruno Decharme Language at work, Centre Pompidou, Paris (2024), Au-Delà, Rituals for a New World, curated by Agnes Gryczkowska at Lafayette Anticipations, Paris (2023); Fragilités curated by Elena Sorokina and Silvia van Espen at Rudolfinum, Prague (2022); An Ocean Standing at LC Queisser, Tiblisi (2022); Pollen curated by Lukas Hofmann at SOPHIE TAPPEINER, Vienna (2022); Electrical Flower with Veronika Pausova at Simone Subal Gallery, New York City (2022); Anna Zemánková curated by Lukas Hofmann at Futura Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague (2021); Hortus Deliciarum #2 at Christian Berst, Paris (2021); Twilight Before Dawn: Anna Zemánková at Cavin Morris, New York City (2016);  Encyclopedic Palace curated by Massimiliano Gioni at the Venice Biennale 2013.

Among others, Zemánková’s work is in the permanent collections of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Milwaukee Art Museum in Milwaukee, and the Arnulf Rainer Museum, Baden.

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