Dea Orh gallery is pleased to present two simultaneous exhibitions, ‘Abstract Landscapes’ by the renowned British artist Richard Harrison, and ‘2011’ by the acclaimed Czech artist Jakub Špaňhel. The providential pairing will highlight the expressive qualities of each artist, both of whom will introduce new and monumental work. Harrison, who is best-known for his immense and often apocalyptic figurative paintings, will present landscape-based abstractions in his debut in the Czech Republic. Špaňhel will reveal his very latest work, a series of canvases from 2011 which utilize a newly vibrant and more varied palette.







Richard Harrison (b. 1954) studied Medieval History at Cambridge University and subsequently received his BA and MA from the prestigious Chelsea School of Art. He has won significant critical acclaim since his first exhibitions in the 1980s. He is the first British artist to have his work shown—and acquired—by The Chenshia Museum in Wuhan, China. Harrison’s landscapes in the upper galleries at Dea Orh demonstrate the remarkable power of his work in paint. Loosely inspired by the artist’s extensive travels, the roiling, explosive applications of densely-layered oils in rich colors conjure tempests and wild seas. These canvases are sublime in the true sense of awe-inspiring, terrifying beauty, inspiring the viewer to imagine themselves in the midst of elemental forces. Harrison’s exceptional handling of paint and use of color is also notable. The material seems to evolve before the viewer: from extreme tactility to near translucency, from neutral tones to brilliant hues, from serene spaces to vortexes of whirling form. The works convey deep emotion, and they demand and reward prolonged viewing. More works and further info: www.richardharrisonart.com



Jakub Špaňhel (b. 1976) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in the departments of Jiří David and Milan Knížák. His works have been shown and acquired by the National Gallery in Prague, and he has a concurrent exhibition at the Dům Umění Ostrava. The works on view in the lower galleries at Dea Orh will depict his “usual subjects” (namely architecture, flowers, and women) in his uniquely suggestive manner. Špaňhel’s paintings seem to inhabit two spheres at once: that of the represented object and that of pure material, and it is precisely this slippage that makes them so visually arresting. His paint seems to pour forth from the subject rendered, cascading in rivulets down the canvas, often obscuring the figure or form even while defining it. Thus his brilliant turquoise depiction of Trevi Fountain is appropriately aqueous: even stone becomes liquid. Similarly, his flowers so meld with their surroundings they seem to be decaying. This liquidity and dissolution is particularly haunting in his ‘portraits’ of women, where the streams of paint suggest blood or tears. Under Špaňhel’s brush, these nudes become masklike, faceless or even disfigured, yet we imagine them to be beautiful. Conversely, Špaňhel’s depictions of banal or even ugly subjects such as petrol stations are awash in luminous, evanescent color. Here, the sprays of light emanating from darkness are reminiscent of Whistler’s Nocturnes.

The exhibition will run until December 13^th. For more information please contact the gallery at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .