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A prominent figure in the Czech art scene—painter, sculptor, illustrator, university educator, and organizer of exhibitions and international projects. His style is unmistakable: vibrant colors, dynamic figures, and energetic lines. He engages in free-form creation, illustration, drawing, and public space installations. He has taught at several art schools, including Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, where he led figure drawing and painting classes. Currently, he teaches at the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Arts at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. He is the initiator and chairman of the international project FIGURAMA, which has been mapping approaches to figurative art at art schools in Europe and the USA for many years.

I have always enjoyed drawing and painting. Initially, I found inspiration in fairy tale books, and if there were no illustrations, I felt the need to draw and paint them myself. This desire to draw led me along the paths of Ferda Mravenec a Brouk Pytlík (Ferdy the Ant and Pouch the Beetle), followed by the knightly tales of Walter Scott (Waverley, Ivanhoe) and Henryk Sienkiewicz: my favorite heroes were Zagloba, Michal Wolodyjowski, Jan Skrzetuski, Longinus Podbipieta, and his two-handed sword Zeiwikaptur. Then came the works by Karl May, James Fenimore Cooper (Natty Bumppo, Hawkeye, Chingachgook, Uncas, Magua), James Oliver Curwood (Kazan the Wolf Dog, The Wolf Hunters), and Jack London (his The Sea-Wolf or The Star Rover). Later, influenced by Jan Bauch and his paintings and illustrations for books (such as those for François Villon translated by Otokar Fischer), I began creating my own illustrations for Franz Kafka, František Hečko, and François Villon. I was a bookworm, so I could go on listing more.

At Sutnarka, you lead the teaching of figurative drawing. Why do you believe drawing – and specifically figurative drawing – is so important for art education? What skills or competencies do you aim to pass on to your students?

Drawing, in my experience of over fifty years, is not only essential for me personally, but also for most painters, sculptors, illustrators, graphic designers, architects, and applied art creators. It forms a fundamental pillar of visual understanding. First, we learn to see and understand the visual universe ourselves, and then we teach our students to do the same. The professional skills acquired through drawing allow us to communicate what we see – enriched by our knowledge and emotions – through our artworks to others.

I like to put it this way: in the Studio of Figurative Drawing and Painting, we conduct fundamental research, while other studios focus on specialized or applied research. Their work builds on what we establish here. Among all visible objects, the human figure offers the greatest range of visual signs and information that we can perceive directly and immediately. In a nutshell, understanding the human figure involves knowledge of Euclidean geometry, spatial relationships, the divine proportion of the golden ratio, classical canons of human proportions (as defined by Praxiteles), Renaissance and dynamic perspectives, and anatomical structure in three dimensions. This drawing practice is further enriched by the study of most painting and drawing techniques.

Over 35 years of teaching, I can proudly say I have taught thousands of students – Czech, Slovak, and from other countries as well. Hundreds of them have become successful artists; some are now professors, and some are among our most outstanding creators. I receive feedback from many of them; some stay in touch, I exhibit with several, and I remain friends with a number of them.

Drawing is often perceived as a foundation, but you place it at the center of artistic thinking. What is the source of its strength?

Drawing is the foundation of all artistic disciplines; it is the initial capture of an artistic idea, concept, insight, or understanding. One drawing is worth a thousand words. A point is nothing, but a line is the beginning of everything. Just as a professional music committee can determine from the first note whether someone is an opera singer, we can tell from a single line whether an artist is full of knowledge, talent, and ability. Drawing is also a philosophical pinnacle of understanding, where with minimal tools and materials (just a pencil, paper, an open mind, and the ability to visualize thoughts), we can say everything about anything.

You have experience teaching at various schools – what makes the drawing class at Sutnarka unique? And what do you personally enjoy about teaching at this school?

At our Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art, we've managed to create the best spatial conditions possible for the largest number of students. We have 10 live models, around 100 specially designed easels with extended adjustable holders – the only ones of their kind in Europe – which are absolutely essential for maintaining the correct eye-level horizon. We also have large boards and rolls of sulfite paper on custom rollers, which make it easier to cut formats. Lighting is more of a challenge, but I’ve turned that into an advantage: we use side lamps to enhance the reading of form and relief.

Figurative drawing and painting here represent fundamental research for all the specialized studios. I never interfere with students’ inner worlds – our goal is only to enhance their expressive tools. Most students go through this course. The highest number I’ve taught individually in a single semester was 376. Compared to European universities, we are at the top in terms of quality.

I’ve now had an assistant for the past two years – Martin Prachař, who was my best student and diploma graduate. His help allows us to dedicate more time to each student. To illustrate our level: in the FIGURAMA competition, teachers from all participating universities select 10 of the best works out of 250 pre-selected figurative drawings and paintings. Out of those 10, six came from Plzeň, one from my workshop in Zlín, one from my workshop in Litomyšl, one from Poznań, and one from Bratislava.

What I enjoy most about teaching at this school is the atmosphere of excellence, the space for meaningful work, and the continuity – both in terms of teaching and the relationships that grow from it.

Your work as an illustrator is very extensive. Which book projects do you consider fundamental and why? What interests you most about the work of an illustrator?

Yes, I have illustrated around 80 books. Some have become cult classics. For each book, I choose a different artistic approach.

a) Márquez, CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD, ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE, THE AUTUMN OF THE PATRIARCH: South American colorfulness and perspective. The illustrations are my paintings on the given theme. Essentially, the entire Middle Ages functioned this way, with artists illustrating the Bible.

b) Bulgakov, THEATRICAL NOVEL, THE MASTER AND MARGARITA: I have illustrated four editions, and for the latest edition, everything previous and current came together into 120 illustrations. I enjoy going through this amazing timeless story. Today, the Devil is in Moscow again.

c) Orwell, ANIMAL FARM: Here, I personified the animals and emphasized their transformed traits. No matter how detailed a description is, it cannot replace an actual depiction; it's about visual language, perceived exclusively through the eyes. The language of images is silence.

d) Pavel Řezníček, THE STARS OF KVELB: These are my latest illustrations, drawings on cardboard from an old box. The book tells the story of the Brno bohemian scene, and I felt compelled to illustrate it because, during my studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, I experienced Pavel Řezníček's subsequent Prague bohemian life. Hopefully, I will illustrate the next two parts as well.

If the book is excellent, it's a challenge. A bad book cannot be well illustrated.

The FIGURAMA exhibition, which you have been organizing for a long time, presents a unique dialogue between approaches to figure drawing. How did the project come about, and how has it evolved over the years? What inspires you most about collaborating with young authors?

FIGURAMA was established in 2001 when I was organizing exhibitions of student work in the main accompanying discipline of figure drawing and painting at UMPRUM. Karel Pokorný was doing similar exhibitions at the architecture school in Brno. We joined forces and organized a joint exhibition in Znojmo. Then, other schools joined, such as the Angewandte in Vienna, the Academy in Mainz, Katowice, Poznań, Budapest, Bratislava, and later Japanese and American schools. Since this is a project based on interest and schools experience relational turbulence, our lineup changes significantly, and the number fluctuates. Unfortunately, everything still depends on my energy; during my hospitalization for heart surgery, FIGURAMA came to a halt. It costs me a lot of money and energy, but every hobby has its price.
I don't organize FIGURAMA to receive praise or thanks from anyone. My goal is to benefit Czechoslovak and European art. I love the energy and aspirations of young artists and believe in them. I see a higher purpose in my life through this effort.

What is most important to you in your creative work over the long term?

My motto is: Visual artists have an irreplaceable role in society. They map their lives and their times, their surroundings, and the land in a very sophisticated and actually the richest form (in terms of expressive means). It is the most complete message for future generations. No one else can do this for us, not in Munich, London, or New York. This is a time of interest in the peripheries and the true, non-boring understanding of visual reality. Visual art is not just an aesthetic category. It must always be recreated; it cannot be copied, imitated, or stolen. The fire of knowledge fades away. It is nourished by our soul and blood. An integral part is also an educated and art-interested society, an artistic public. We have been irreplaceably losing that for decades.

At the University Library of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, interested parties can visit the exhibition "Best of Atelier Boris Jirků" until July 11.