Kotik in Brno Jan Jakub Kotík (1972–2007), the artist who lived in Prague from 2007, originated from one of the branches of the family of the Czech president Masaryk. His mother was Charlotta Kotíková, the leading art theoretician. Before Christmas 2007, Kotík unexpectedly died. He, however, left behind an original oeuvre which is highly respected in the art circles and which is also proved by the only work by him exhibited in the Moravian Gallery in Brno. The object entitled Houses of the Holy and dated 2005, inspired by the Led Zeppelin LP of the same name, is a reaction to the Iraq war. The sofa in the shape of a flat-path missile and with an upholstering with hunting motifs symbolizes the power of the rich who pretend to be saints but at the same time thrive financially on wars. For them, war is solely a commercial item increasing their well-being. Kotík also accentuates the share of the commercial goals on the global violence in many of his other works, linking even hardly-researchable facts from the history of business which the topical events. His oeuvre is rather critical to the contemporary globalized society and it can only be hoped that it will be soon evaluated by a self-contained exhibition. Jan Jakub Kotík, Houses of the Holy, 2005 Space for One Work, Pražák’s Palace, Moravian Gallery in Brno 3 December 2008 – 15 March 2009 Caption: Jan Jakub Kotik, Houses of the Holy, 2005
