Jitka Hanzlová

Jitka Hanzlová´s first photographic series, Rokytník (1990 – 1994), brought her critical acclaim. For the Rokytník series, Hanzlová returned to her Czech childhood homeland in the early 1990s. The place and its inhabitants appear to be frozen in time in these images that already bear all the hallmarks of the direct and undistorted gaze with which Hanzlová, even then, portrayed people and their surroundings. The compelling presence she lends her subjects and the precision with which she frames them have come to typify Hanzlová’s forthright approach to reality, which is in no way disrespectful, but an expression of particular care and attentiveness.

Since then, the artist has created many different groups of works. All are proving that Hanzlová‘s gaze is uninhibited, fearless and direct. What is so important to Jitka Hanzlová is this silent communication, this awareness of vitality, increasingly disappearing from our high-tech world.