The Czech Center New York presents an exhibition of silhouettes of significant figures of Czech origin made by painter Hana Shannon, a New York resident. She portrays people who are recognized for their achievements and contributions in the field of arts and sciences.
Exhibition opening will take place on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, at 7 pm.
Free registration for the exhibition opening here.
Guided exhibition tour – Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 5 pm at Czech Center Gallery by the author.
Free registration for the guided tour here.
The opening will include a short performance by renowned British bass player Graham Maby, who met Václav Havel in 2006 after playing a concert with Joan Baez at the legendary music club Lucerna in Prague.
Czech Luminaries: Silhouette
Hana Shannon is a classically trained painter originally from the Czech Republic who specializes in portraiture. She received her Master's degree in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and later moved to the United States to pursue her artistic career. The energy and freedom of New York City, her home for more than a decade, have provided great inspiration to her.
The exhibition of her colorful portraits in the storefront windows of Bergdorf Goodman, the legendary department store, in 2001, was a landmark achievement for Hana, particularly because of the direct connection with thousands of viewers seeing her work in a "non-gallery" setting when walking down Fifth Avenue.
Most recently, her work was on view at Village One Art in Chelsea as part of “Idylls & Reveries”, and at Van Der Plas gallery in Lower East Side (“Oasis of Color”).
Shannon’s exploration into the medium of silhouette started back in 2016 as a kind of challenge to depict portraits of her family members most accurately. Her deep immersion into the art of silhouette happened during the pandemic when she created the first series of monumental silhouettes as a response to homesickness during the lockdown. It proved to be a therapeutic one: creating portraits of famous Czechs helped her overcome her frustration of not being able to visit her home country in 2020. She communicates through her art with these eloquent individuals and thus feels closer to them.
Indeed, Hana Shannon is reimagining the medium of a silhouette in a new and very personal way: her large silhouettes are both monumental and representative, and the special use of deep colors distinguishes the artist from her peers. By using the large format, she draws attention to the rich Czech history, culture, and contributions to art and science. For Shannon, the unusual use of color extends the narrative possibilities of this medium, typically monochromatic black-and-white. Her collection of silhouettes is an ongoing project, reflecting the time she lives in and the atmosphere surrounding her. "I paint people I admire and who inspire me," explains Shannon.
Among those who inspire her and who are displayed at the show, are for example the American politician and diplomat with Czechoslovak roots Madeleine Albright, the world-famous film director Miloš Forman, the writer and author of the term “robot”, Karel Čapek, or the less known inventor of contact lenses, Otto Wichterle. However, the most special silhouette among this group is the portrait of Franz Kafka, who is depicted en face, thus differently from the others that are predominantly profile silhouettes. Hana Shannon explains: “You have to articulate one’s expression through the posture. As for Kafka, no profile photo of him is available. His eyes are so dominant. And, he looks like he is actually wearing a face covering. This corresponded fully with the beginning of the pandemic.” Among the contemporaries, there is for example Paulina Porizkova, a famous model and writer, the legendary tennis player Martina Navrátilová, and the multidisciplinary entrepreneur Yemi A.D., one of eight crew members for the civilian lunar space mission.
These are only a few of the Czech luminaries that are shown in Hana Shannon’s magnificent tribute.
Photo credit © Hana Shannon
Hana Shannon
