Group 42 (Czech: Skupina 42)1 was a Czech artistic group officially established on 27 November 1942 (though its roots date to 1938–1939, forming in 1940).2 The group's activity ceased in 1948 when they were banned by the government,3 but its influence on Czech literature and Czech art was still evident in further years.
This group was primarily influenced by civilism, cubism, futurism, constructivism, existentialism, and surrealism, and their work revealed a characteristic fascination with technology, evident in their frequent focus on cities, factories, industry, and machines. The human characters are generally common townspeople.
The article The World We Live In (Czech: Svět, v němž žijeme) by Jindřich Chalupecký provided Group 42's primary theoretical foundation.
Members
Poets
- Ivan Blatný
- Jan Hanč
- Jiřina Hauková
- Josef Kainar
- Jiří Kolář (also a visual artist)
Painters
- František Gross
- František Hudeček
- Jan Kotík
- Kamil Lhoták
- Bohumír Matal
- Jan Smetana
- Karel Souček
Carver
Photographer
Theoreticians
- Jindřich Chalupecký
- Jiří Kotalík
References
References
- BLOOM, ED HILL,SUZANNE (1990-03-08). "MADE IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA". Artforum. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - "Group 42". Meer. 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
- "[SKUPINA 42 - CZECH POST-WAR ART] FG 1973. Cycle of four drypoint etchings, signed, laid into original printed folder". vialibri.net. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
- Eva Petrová (ed.) and collective: Skupina 42, Akropolis, Praha 1998, ISBN 80-85770-67-9 (in Czech)
- Zdeněk Pešat, Eva Petrová (ed.): Skupina 42, Atlantis, Brno 2000, ISBN 9788071082095 (in Czech)
- Izabela Mroczek: Dom, ulica, miasto w poezji czeskiej Grupy 42, Śląsk, Katowice-Warszawa, 2005 (Polish)
- Leszek Engelking: Codzienność i mit. Poetyka, programy i historia Grupy 42 w kontekstach dwudziestowiecznej awangardy i postawangardy, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, Łódź 2005, ISBN 83-7171-826-8 (Polish)