CGD

Although we are in the Illustrator of the Year category now, we must not forget that Jan Šrámek is a visual artist. Let's not discuss illustration; let's try to look back a bit further. To try to remember. Unfortunately, we as a society manifest an extreme laxness to a part of our history – and Šrámek has recently begun reminding us of it via his work with increasing measure. He himself entered wider awareness as VJ Kolouch, where the foundations of his drawing morphology can be found, but there is something much more significant in order to understand his oeuvre: the book Pioneers and Robots – a theoretical work which he co-published with Pavel Ryska. The inspiration of Czechoslovak visual culture from the period between 1950 and 1970 is becoming more and more apparent in his production; not directly in his drawings but rather in his way of thinking and his selection of subjects. Šrámek keeps looking back, although still observing objects straightforwardly, often via uncomplicated central composition. He is a consistent and critical observer of the fading past. His effort to remind and recollect and his continuous adhering to a repeated memory – all those are the main attributes of his drawing. His tendency towards repeating motifs is almost obsessive, but it is exactly this permanence and perseverance which is unique. As a result, Šrámek draws the motifs he does not want to forget about.

Tomáš Luňák