Jana Želibská

Jana Želibská is an important figure of the generation of progressive Czechoslovak artists. In the beginning of her career she was inspired by nouveau réalisme and pop art tendencies. Želibská started experimenting with lyrical painting and prints, continued to create immersive environments, using mixed media and non-art materials. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava. In 1967 she presented her first solo show The Possibility of Exposure at the Cyprian Majernik Gallery in Bratislava. In her work she introduced the questioning of the gender clichés, the problematic of woman’s sensibility and original interpretation of a human body. She undermined the conventional notion about the traditional role of a woman. From the end of the Sixties she performed several actions, emphasizing the system of open communication and interpenetration of art and life. Her actions took place not only in nature, where she was employing the aspects of mythology and folk tradition, but also in urban spaces, where she was cooperating with her friend.