The paintings of Stanislav Diviš (born 1953 in Kutná Hora) have long been an integral and original component of contemporary Czech art. Diviš studied at Prague’s Academy of Fine Arts in 1982–1985, but the capriciousness of the Academy’s regime-loyal teachers prevented him from completing his studies. In 1983 he founded the band Krásné nové stroje, which he still heads today. He initiated the Confrontations series of exhibitions in unusual venues, and is also a co-founder of the famous Tvrdohlaví [Hard-Heads] art group. Diviš has taught at both the Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague.

Like many other members of his generation, his artistic career has been strongly influenced by 20th-century Czech art and by the international ideas and artistic movements of the post-modern era. In this liberated situation when artists are no longer expected to engage in avant-garde innovation and they can work with all possible forms and content, Diviš set out on a path towards rehabilitating the painting as a medium still capable of exploring fundamental questions of our existence in the world.

The exhibition at the Gallery of the Central Bohemian Region consists of works from several of the artist’s cycles. The exhibition is named after one of these – Flowers from Paradise. It is inspired by the glowing stained-glass windows of French Gothic cathedrals.

Despite his rational precision of form, order in Diviš’s paintings feels more internally experienced than coldly mathematical. Stanislav Diviš works with this ancient medium in a highly conceptual manner, and although his work is characterized by a clearly defined vision, he remains open to the great diversity of our vibrant world.