KOLÁR, Jirí. (1914–2002). Original Collage, "J'ai 20 ans..." [N.p., 1964.] Collage, initialed by the artist in the lower right corner. Sight 10 x 6 1/4". Framed and matted under glass, 20 x 15 1/4". 

The work inserts a shaped manuscript speech bubble into a printed painting of a lounging Biedermeier female figure, who remarks, "Moi je m'appelle Ria Bartok. J'ai 20 ans. Je mesure. 1 m. 70. Je débute dans la chanson. Pour le moment je ne gagne presque rien ("My name is Ria Bartok. I'm 1 m. 70 tall. I've debuted as a singer. For the moment, I'm earning nearly nothing"). The French singer of yéyé pop songs, Ria Bartok, saw her first success at the age of 20 with the song "Parce que j'ai revu François" and her greatest success with "Et quelque chose me dit". She died suddenly in a fire in 1970 at the age of 27. A fine representative work by the prolific Czech poet, writer, painter and translator who worked across media: a poet, writer, and translator who expanded the boundaries of modern art by deconstructing the printed image and word. Kolár began making his wry, conceptual collages in the 1940s, while he was writing Prometheus’ Liver – the collection of poetry that would lead, when it was discovered by the authorities in 1953, to his spending nine months in prison. In reassembling and constructing images in collage, he created often absurd commentaries on modern life and the turmoil he faced as a political dissident in Communist Czechoslovakia.

Minor soiling to mat, light wear and a few scratches to frame. Fine.