Art Brut in the Czech Republic

First published: Fall 2005

As the 'brain of the world', Zdenek Kosek spends his days creating the weather. Sitting in front of his apartment window, he makes clouds, storms, rain, snow and tornadoes over planet Earth. He meticulously notes and draws everything around him: the direction of the wind, the flight of the birds, every little sound, the changes of temperature, infinite combinations of numbers and chemical elements, his thoughts, the thoughts of others. He calculates, deciphers, explores, deducts.

Kosek's complex, intricate drawings and the works of several other Czech Outsider artists featured in an exhibition at the Halle Saint Pierre, Paris in 2002-3. Yet despite this new interest in Czech Art Brut in Western Europe it remains largely unknown in the Czech Republic. And, in contrast to its acceptance in other European countries, it has been largely ignored by the avant-garde. There has been no Czech equivalent to the famous European psychiatrist-collectors: no Hans Prinzhorn, Walter Morgenthaler or Auguste Marie.