Dokoupil 100

Dokoupil was born in Krnov, former Czechoslovakia, in 1954. After the invasion of the Soviet army in Prague in 1968, he escaped with his family to Cologne, where he started to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1976. Later on he also attended classes at the Universities of Frankfurt and New York, where he studied under German concept artist Hans Haacke. The influence of Haacke is evident in Dokoupil‘s early work. From 1983-84 Dokoupil was guest professor at the Academy of Fine Arts of Düsseldorf and 1989 in Madrid.

In 1979 Dokoupil founded the group „Mülheimer Freiheit“ with artists such as Hans Peter Adamski, Peter Bommels and Walter Dahn. The group associated with art dealer Paul Maenz who organised Dokoupil‘s first solo exhibition in 1982. In their shared studio in Cologne the six „Jungen Wilden“sought to explore a contemporary expression for their art by using a neoexpressive, figurative style of intensely colourful painting with traditional subjects and by overriding the intellectual, reduced formal language of Minimal and Conceptual Art. But already in an early stage Dokoupil developed a less wild, rather unusual method of working and soon found his own radical subjective way with individual considerations. With his „book painting“ shown at Documenta 7, Kassel, in 1982, Dokoupil attracted the attention of the art world. It was a gigantic material painting called „God, show me your balls“, a kind of homage to a „plate painting“ of Julian Schnabel, who was not invited to participate in the exhibition – in Dokoupil‘s eyes a real effrontery. Since then – besides the early group exhibitions with the „Mülheimer Freiheit“ – Dokoupil's work has been subject of numerous one-man shows in renowned galleries, important museums and at other cultural sites worldwide.

In accordance with the thesis of Dadaist Marcel Duchamp, Dokoupil never wanted to be subordinated to a personal or a forced style, thus he never developed a uniform style that would allow the observer to recognize his work. Rather he paraphrases different preceding styles, plays with them and invents incessantly new techniques with which he experiments extensively. Probably only a certain expressivity and his affinity for eroticism may be continuous characterisations in his world of images. His oeuvre today contains over 60 so-called series and far more than 100 devised techniques or styles.

Even if an exhibition of his oeuvre would resemble a group show of different painters, it has nothing to do with any pluralism of styles, with the claim of the coincidence of styles, or with a variety of post-modern irony. The focus of his multifaceted oeuvre is in fact on exploring original techniques and configurations generating a domain for playful experimentation and physical tension in which new images can arise and assuring that the act of making images is independent of the iconographic compulsions of the media world today.

Dokoupil lives and works in Berlin, Madrid, Prague and Rio de Janeiro.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2010
DOKOUPIL 100, Jízdárna Pražského hradu, Praha, Czech Republic

2009
Nukes and Porn, Galerie Bruno Bischofberger – Galerie Andrea Caratsch, Zürich, Switzerland

2008
Man Ray, Picabia, Richter and Bond – James Bond, Ben Brown Fine Arts, London, Great Britain

2007
When my attitudes become form again – 12 hooks, Galerie Pfefferle, München, Germany
Movie and TV Paintings, Galerie Bruno Bischofberger – Galerie Andrea Caratsch, Zürich, Switzerland
Dokoupil, Galeri Artist, Istanbul, Turkey

2006
Haken-Paintings, Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, Zürich, Switzerland

2005
Malerei im 21. Jahrhundert, Werkschau 1981–2005, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany; Národní galerie, Praha, Czech Republic
Arbeiten 1981–2004, Galerie Karl Pfefferle, München, Germany
Čtyři série, Dům umění města Brna, Brno, Czech Republic

2004
Kafkas Prag, Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg, Germany
Flowers and Buddhas, Galleri Susanne Ottesen, København, Denmark
Buddhas, Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, Zürich, Switzerland

2003
Cuadros de Vela (1989–2002), Centro Atlántico De Arte Moderno CAAM, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Spain; Instituto Oscar Domínguez de Arte y Cultura Contemporánea IODACC, San Cristobal de la Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
Peitschen Bilder, Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, Zürich, Switzerland

2002
Opere recenti, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio, Bologna, Italy
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galleri Susanne Ottesen, København, Denmark
Blick ins 21. Jahrhundert, Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover, Germany
Leopards, Skulls and Horses, Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, Zürich, Switzerland
Elke Wolk is een weg, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Every cloud is a way, Milton Keynes Gallery, Central Milton Keynes, Great Britain

2001
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galería Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

2000
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Palacio de Velázquez, Madrid, Spain
New Works, Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, Zürich, Switzerland
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galerie Karl Pfefferle, München, Germany

1999
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Château de Chenonceau, Chenonceaux, France

1998
200 Drawings, Galleri Susanne Ottesen, København, Denmark
Follia Slava, Galleria Santo Ficara, Firenze, Italy

1997
Los cuadros verdes, Galería Juana de Aizpuru, Sevilla, Spain
Malá Retrospectiva 1982–1996, Galerie MXM, Praha, Czech Republic
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galerie Caesar, Olomouc; 76 Galerie, Ostrava, Czech Republic
Grüne Bilder, Galerie Karl Pfefferle, München, Germany
Skizzen, Zeichnungen und Kollagen zum „Ring des Nibelungen“, Museum Weimar, Kabinett am Goetheplatz, Weimar, Germany
Something Strange and Fantastic, Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Wien, Austria
Madonnas in Ecstasy, Art & Public, Geneva, Switzerland
Dokoupil, Horsens Kunstmuseum, Lund, Švédsko; Gallerie Rudolfinum, Praha, Czech Republic
Los cuadros verdes (green paintings), Galería Juana de Aizpuru, Madrid, Spain
Dokoupil, Centre d’Art Contemporain de Fréjus, Fréjus, France

1996
Catálogo, Galerie Rudolfinum, Praha, Czech Republic
Painting without Brush, Horsens Kunstmuseum, Horsens, Denmark

1995
New Paintings, Galería Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
New Works, Yoan Guaita, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Recycling Gerard Kever, Maximilian Krips Galerie, Köln, Germany

1994
New Paintings, Gallery Tony Shafrazi, New York, USA
Memory Drawings, Galerie Ingrid Dacic, Tübingen, Germany
Feinde der Menschenrechte, Galerie Hübner & Thiel, Dresden, Germany
Drawings and Sculptures, Aschenbach Galerie, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Recycling Gerard Kever, Anders Tornberg Gallery, Lund, Sweden
Paintings and Sculptures, Galerie Karl Pfefferle, München, Germany

1993
Werke 1990–1992, Gallery Dewer Art, Otegem, Belgium
Sculptures (+ Donald Baechler), Galleria Alessandra Bonomo, Roma, Italy
Trabajos 1985–1993, Sala Amárica, Diputación Foral de Alava, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Arbeiten auf Papier, Galerie Hübner & Thiel, Dresden, Germany
Drawings, Galerie Maximilian Krips, Köln, Germany
Works on Paper 1987–1992, Galerie van Esch, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Dokoupil, Galería Leydenecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Jiri Georg Dokoupil (+ Donald Baechler), Galerie Ribbentrop A. C. R. Kunstvermittlung, Eltville am Rhein, Germany
Zeichnungen (+ Donald Baechler), Galerie Peters-Barenbrock, Braunschweig, Germany
Dokoupil, Galerie Carstens, Berlin, Germany

1992
Tyre Paintings, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, USA
Tyre Paintings, Galleri Susanne Ottesen, København, Denmark
New Paintings, Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York, USA
Obstbilder und Skulpturen, A. C. R. Kunstvermittlung, Eltville am Rhein, Germany
Reifenbilder, Galerie Karl Pfefferle, München, Germany
Reifenbilder, Galerie Kaess-Weiß, Stuttgart, Germany
Tyre Paintings, Galerie Aschenbach, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Cuadros de burbujas de jabón (soapbubbles), Galería Juana de Aizpuru, Madrid, Spain
Cuadros de burbujas de jabón (soapbubbles), Galería Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Arbeiten auf Papier, Galerie am kleinen Markt, Mannheim, Germany
New Works by Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Reiner Opoku, Köln, Germany

1991
Drawings, Galerie Samia Saouma, Paris, France
Paintings and Bronzes, Galerie Krinzinger, Wien, Austria
Fruit Architecture, Galerie Krinzinger, Wien, Austria
New Paintings, Galerie Isy Brachot, Brussel, Belgium
Skulpturen und Obstbilder, Office Reiner Opoku, Köln, Germany
Arquitectura de Frutas, Galería Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Drawings, Vol. VIII, My Name is Lolita Art, Valencia, Spain
Bronzen und Zeichnungen, Galerie Ricky Swart, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Drawings 1980–1991, Horsens Kunstmuseum, Lund, Švédsko; Casa de la Cultura, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain; Centro de Arte La Regenta, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain; Kunsthalle Kiel, Kiel, Germany

1990
Dokoupil, Galleri Susanne Ottesen, København, Denmark
Marina, Stuart Regen Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Mother’s Milk Paintings, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, USA
Fruit Paintings, Gallery Edward Totah, London, Great Britain
Paintings, Gallery Paul Kasmin, New York, USA
Candle Paintings 1990–1991, Galerie Krinzinger, Wien, Austria
Drawings, Vol. V, Galerie Anders Tornberg, Lund, Sweden
Drawings, Vol. VI, Galerie Karl Pfefferle, München, Germany
Drawings, Vol. VII, Galería Juana de Aizpuru, Sevilla, Spain

1989
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Fundación Caja des Pensiones, Madrid, Spain
Drawings, Vol. I, Galleria Massimo Minini, Brescia, Italy
Drawings, Vol. II, Galerie Nikolaus Sonne, Berlin, Germany
Drawings, Vol. III, Galería Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Drawings, Vol. IV, Galleria Marilena Bonomo, Bari, Italy
Zeichnungen, Galerie Ricky Swart, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galerie Beaubourg, Paris, France
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Gallery Robert Miller, New York, USA
Drawings (+ Roberto Cabot), Palacete del Embarcadero, Santander, Spain
Drawings, Gallery Paul Kasmin, New York, USA
New Paintings, Gallery Akira Ikeda, Nagoya, Japan
Pinturas, Galería Juana de Aizpuru, Madrid, Spain
Jiri Georg Dokoupil (+ Alighiero Boetti), Galería Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

1988
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galleria Marilena Bonomo, Bari, Italy
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galería Juana de Aizpuru, Madrid, Spain
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galería Juana de Aizpuru, Sevilla, Spain

1987
Christus-Bilder, Galerie Paul Maenz, Köln, Germany
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galería Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galerie Six Friedrich, München, Germany
Zeichnungen 1983–1987, Galerie Ricky Swart, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Zeichnungen 1987, Galerie Ingrid Dacic, Tubingen, Germany
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galleria Gio Marconi, Milano, Italy
Zodiac, Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, Zürich, Switzerland

1986
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galerie 121, Antwerpen, Belgium
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galleria Marilena Bonomo, Bari, Italy
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Gallery Ileana Sonnabend, New York, USA

1985
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galerie Crousel-Husenot, Paris, France
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galería Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Mülheimer Freiheit, Neue wilde Bilder (+ Walter Dahn), Galerie Paul Maenz, Köln, Germany
Corporations & Products, Galerie Paul Maenz, Köln, Germany; Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, USA; Gallery Asher/Faure, Los Angeles, USA
Jiri Georg Dokoupil (+ Walter Dahn), Galerie Vera Munro, Hamburg, Germany
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galerie Heinrich Erhardt, Frankfurt, Germany
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Gallery Leo Castelli, New York, USA

1984
Neue Werke, Galerie Schurr, Stuttgart, Germany
Dusch- und Afrikabilder (+ Walter Dahn), Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands
Therapeutische Bilder, Galerie Paul Maenz, Köln, Germany
Arbeiten aus 1981–1984, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany; Kunstmuseum Luzern, Luzern, Switzerland; Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands; Espace Lyonnais d’Art Contemporain, Lyon, France

1983
Portraits, Galerie Paul Maenz, Köln, Germany
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Galerie Six Friedrich, München, Germany
Ricki: Die Duschbilder (+ Walter Dahn), Produzentengalerie, Hamburg, Germany; Galerie Paul Maenz, Köln, Germany; Galerie Six Friedrich, München, Germany
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Gallery Mary Boone, New York, USA
Mixtura Dokoupiliana, Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris, France

1982
Neue Kölner Schule, Galerie Paul Maenz, Köln, Germany
Ein Pinsel (+ Walter Dahn), Galerie 't Venster, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Recent Works, Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris, France
Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Helen van der Meij, Amsterdam, The Netherlands