Pavel Konečný, Czech Republic - MEET THE COLLECTOR Series Part Fifty One
Pavel Konečný is part fifty one of my ‘Meet the Collector’ series. John Maizels told me about the work of Pavel recently, his love of Anna Zemánková and how his attention has been turned recently to making short films of outsider environments. He started collecting art brut back when he was at University and hasn’t stopped since. Read on to find out more…
Pavel Konečný with the fifth publication of the series "Marginalie", which is dedicated to the Sardinian painter Bonaria Manca and is titled ‘Reborn every day’
1. When did your interest in the field of outsider art/art brut begin?
My consistent interest in this kind of artistic expression began almost 50 years ago, in the 70s. My motivation was related to a number of excellent exhibitions in what was then Czechoslovakia, which were devoted to spontaneous or naive art. However, the biggest and fundamental influence on me was definitely the "Triennale of Insite Art" in Bratislava, where I obtained several addresses for exhibiting untrained authors. Another artist that was added to my collection very early on was the pastels of Mrs. Anna Zemánková. She was born just like me in Olomouc and had beautiful memories of her hometown. We understood each other very well during our meeting.
Pavel n front of two pastels by Anna Zemánková at an exhibition in the House of Arts in Opava, 2015
2. When did you become a collector of this art? How many pieces do you think are in your collection now? And do you exhibit any of it on the walls of your home or elsewhere?
I don't know the exact number of works in my collection, but there are about 500-600 artworks. The apartment where I live on the outskirts of Olomouc is small (about 50 sq.metres), but even so, I have about 100 smaller works on display in the hallway, in the bedroom, in the kitchen and in the living room. However, quantity has never been my goal or an essential measure. What was decisive for me was the authenticity, purity and originality of the view and the emotional power of the creator's statement. I met many creators over the years without the purchasing any of their work. The value for me is meeting with a spontaneous artist and getting knowledge of the environment in which they create. I am primarily a collector of experiences and if I own any works, they are kind of like souvenirs, evoking vivid memories.
3. As you are based in the Czech Republic, is there a particular focus on artists from there in your collection?
Yes, of course I am focused mainly on artists from my surroundings from Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. This work takes up most of my collection - approximately 50 artists. However, they are not only art brut artists, but the whole spectrum of marginal creators of naive, folk and art brut. Aside from Anna Zemánková, there is also Cecilie Marková, Natália Schmidtová, Leoš Wertheimer, Zbyněk Semerák, Eva Droppová, Ondrej Šteberl and others. Among the twenty best-known European artists in my collection, there is: Ezekiel Leandro, Bonaria Manca, Pietro Moschini, Hans Plos van Amstel, Rosemarie Köczy, Martha Grunenwaldt, Charles Bussion and Genowefa Magiera.
Twelve of Pavel’s favourite spontaneous artists can be seen here
4. I have read an interview where you have said the most precious thing in your collection is around twenty works by Anna Zemánková – why would you say they are the most precious to you?
The works of Mrs. Anna Zemánková are the most valuable to me, because they are connected with the beginnings of my collecting journey, which I started as a university student. Another reason I like Zemánková so much is the strong connection of her to the city of Olomouc and also the friendly ties I have to her family… especially to her granddaughter Terezia Zemánková, with whom I work closely with in the Prague association ABCD. I am glad that I managed to record a comprehensive interview with Mrs. Anna Zemánková, which became a source of essential information about her work. It also cemented the strong emotions permeating my relationship to her amazing work.
5. Can you tell us a bit about your background?
I don't like to talk about myself, so here I present the text from a catalogue: Collector Pavel Konečný was born on July 1st 1949 at Olomouc. At the turn of 1960s and 1970s he studied at the Philosophy faculty of Palacký University Olomouc and after studies he worked in Olomouc as the head and dramaturge of the Theatre of Music and director of the territorial office of National Monument Institute. Since the 1970s he is interested in the art of autodidacts, whose authentic artistic manifestations he collects. A selection of his extensive collection was presented for example in the Museum of Arts in Olomouc, Museum Montanelli in Prague, or in the Gallery of Naive Arts of the Slovak National Gallery in Pezinok. His collection has around 500/600 art-works that are a regular part of prominent general exhibitions of art brut. Except for the collection activities, he periodically organizes exhibitions of spontaneous authors, publishes editorial series Marginalies, occasionally Publisher in periodicals such as the A2, Art & Antiques and yearly organizes a film festival Art Brut Film in Olomouc. He is a member of the Prague association ABCD for cognition and the presentation of art brut and also of an international organization European Outsider Art Association (EOA). Recently, in addition to the mapping of the spontaneous artists’ creation in Czechia and Slovakia, he aims to documentation of the marginal phenomena of fine art in Italy and Croatia.
Friends from the collection Fabuloserie (Sophie Bourbonnais, Marek Mlodecki) on a visit in Olomouc during the show Art Brut film, 2017
6. What style of work, if any, is of particular interest to you within this field? (for example is it embroidery, drawing, sculpture, and so on)
I am interested in all forms of spontaneous expression, but in connection to this question I am realizing that, for example, I do not have any textile or ceramic works in my collection. However, I am strongly influenced by carvings and sculptures and lately by perhaps the strangest unique environments. I like to look for them and document them in detail. These interesting places are unique, non-transferable, not for sale and cannot be speculated with. It is only possible to perceive, document, present and protect them. This is what really attracts me to them. One can abandon ownership instincts and focus exclusively on the thought and creative potential of the author of this spontaneous creative activity. Since collecting marginal manifestations, I have gradually come to examine and protect them.
7. A conflicted term at present, but can you tell us about your opinion of the term outsider art, how you feel about it and if there are any other words that you think we should be using instead?
As an art brut collector, the discussion of the terminology of marginal works does not excite me much. It is primarily a personal matter and each collector has different criteria that relate to the subject of his interest. I don't mind the many designations for this particular area – art brut, outsider art, marginal art, singular art… I use them all in different situations. Sometimes I prefer the term ‘spontaneous art’ to others.
8. Would you say you had a favourite artist or piece of work within your collection? And why?
All the artists in my collection are very close to me and I have a special relationship with each one. Of course, the artists that I have met more times have grown into my heart more than others.
View of the bedroom with exposed heads from the collection and a work desk
9. Where would you say you buy most of your work from: a studio, art fairs, exhibitions, auctions, or direct from artists?
In principle, I do not buy works at auctions or in galleries, only directly from artists or heirs or I obtain them in exchange from other collectors. I consider contact with the artist to be decisive for the inclusion of a work in my collection from the very beginning.
10. Is there an exhibition in this field of art that you have felt has been particularly important? And why?
The 55th Venice Biennale in 2013 focused an unprecedented attention to the spontaneous works of selected outsiders from around the world that did not hesitate to expose and present right next to the leading contemporary artists and already established, generally recognized in authorities of modern art. Inconsistency of this fact is obvious, and only the future will answer the question… whether this distinctive and surely even brave curatorial achievement, providing for the spontaneous creation of untrained creators some different benchmarks and new perspectives, was indeed a step in the right direction? Let us also believe, however, that with such a dynamic dialogue, direct confrontation of the marginal and the professional, is needed and required. This was also predicted by a Czech essayist and writer Josef Jedlička, when he, a few years ago, wrote: “Culture that does not have a corrective effect in outsiders, is stagnating, since its level of vitality is the measure of these outsiders courage.”
A view of the exhibition "From insita to art brut" of Pavel Konečný's collection in the Slovak Gallery of Artists in Spišská Nová Ves, 2017
11. Are there any people within this field that you feel have been particularly important to pave the way for where the field is at now?
Of course, it is primarily the founding generation that is generally known and recognized like Jean Dubuffet and his followers. However, I would like to mention here some artists and theorists who contributed to the clarification of the significance of this remarkable spontaneous work in the Czech and Slovak Republics: Josef Čapek, Karel Teige, Arsen Pohribný, Alena Nádvorníková, Terezie Zemánková, Štefan Tkáč and Katarina Čierna. Among current art brut theorists and active experts (among others), I admire the opinions and approaches of Jo Farb Hernandez, Eva di Stefano, Henk van Es, Daniela Rosi, Sonia Wilk or Gabriele Mina. There are certainly others too.
12. Are there any artists that you are still looking to add to your collection?
Of course, there are many artists whose works I would like to own. Today, however, I know very well that that is not possible for many reasons, but it is also not important at all. The value of a collection is not measured by its quantitative extent and the number of works obtained. I am far more pleased to be able to organize an exhibition, make a video or write a publication about the artists I have discovered and met. In this, I see the meaning and continuation of my collecting activity.
13. Do you ever loan your art out to other exhibitions and if so, what is the draw of you lending work to shows?
Between 1992 and 2017 I realized a total of ten exhibitions of my collection throughout the Czech Republic and also in Slovakia. I also lend individual works to art brut exhibitions in Europe. Unlike other collectors who anxiously guard their treasures, I have no problem with loaning works. On the contrary, I consider exhibition activities to be an important aspect of collecting.
A view of the central part of the sculptural singular environment "Garden of Eden". The garden was discovered, described and documented by Pavel
14. I read that you made a video of the sculpture garden by Frantiska Blechova – why did you want to document this garden? And have you made any videos of other artists or their works?
I consider the phenomenon of video to be an excellent communication tool for the appropriate dissemination of knowledge about real, valuable and true spontaneous art, which really deserves the attention of audiences. All this done, without high financial costs, without advertising and without the need to use the existing traditional gallery and museum system, which unfortunately is often subject to economic and other pressures that are not beneficial to spontaneous creation. Recently, my collecting interest has focused on photo and video documentation of singular environments and their creators. I made my first video about the work of the important Czech spontaneous painter Antonín Řehák in 1995. Since then, many other short videos have been made, capturing the spontaneous work of Czech and foreign artists who have fascinated me. I especially appreciate the short video about the singular environment in the Croatian Kukljica - Garden of Eden by the spontaneous creator Grgurić. The film is called “Concrete Dreams in the Garden of Eden” and can be viewed online.
15. Is there anything else you would like to add?
I feel sorry to be just a collector and not a poet like those whose works have come to my collection.