The Gallery of Everything

Artist Focus: Eva Švankmajerová // The Gallery of Everything

Female surrealists have been receiving significant recognition in recent years, with group exhibitions and retrospectives dedicated to the likes of Lee Miller, Leonora Carrington, Dora Maar, Dorothea Tanning and others. Czech painter, writer, and polymath, Eva Švankmajerová, is a similarly underknown figure, despite her critical role in the formation of the Czech and Slovak aesthetic from the 60s, and her contributions to Surrealism until her death in 2005.

In addition to helping write, art direct and fabricate for her husband’s animated and live-action material, Švankmajerová produced an impressive and cohesive body of independent material, including drawings, paintings and ceramics, characterised by a visual language which remained utterly distinct throughout her career.