Barlow, Bohuslav

Biography

Bohuslav Barlow was born in Bruntal, a small township in Upper Moravia, Czechoslovakia. When the Iron Curtain descended after the war he and his mother fled to Munich then later moved to England.

Bohuslav attended art school in Manchester and went on to study at the Central School of Art in London from where he graduated in Fine Art. After graduation he travelled around Europe, North Africa, Turkey and India. Returning to London he briefly became an art teacher, but then decided to earn his living as a full-time artist. At 26, Bohuslav moved to Todmorden and has lived there ever since, opening his own gallery, and raising his family.

Barlow has had several solo exhibitions and taken part in a number of prominent mixed exhibitions. His work has been exhibited in many municipal and private galleries throughout England. He has also exhibited in California, USA. His art is held by private collectors, including the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia.

Statement

‘For the last decade or so I have been working on the general theme of Charms and Chimera; those things that charm and those that disturb. In these paintings I play with an idiosyncratic repertoire of iconography which has been built up over the last fifty years as well as being mindful of the aesthetic and painterly demands involved in the construction of such images.’

‘In spite of being overawed by the great works of the Romantic period and the surrealist movement I put my pictures within their orbit.’

‘I was born in Czechoslovakia and raised in Bavaria before coming to England to be part of quite an unusual family – this has left its mark and unavoidably influences my visual output.’

For more information visit www.bohuslavbarlow.co.uk

Get in touch: bohuslav12@gmail.com