Lenka Sýkorová and Eva Smetanová, Mayor of the Village of Počedělice,
kindly invite you to the fourth annual informal memorial gathering at the site
where Zdeněk Sýkora enjoyed painting, and to the ceremonial unveiling
of a memorial panel on the banks of the Ohře (Eger) River in Počedělice

on Saturday, 16 July 2016, at 3 p.m.

This year as well, a painting symposium is being held as a part of Sýkora’s Počedělice. Participants in last year’s meeting are presenting their work at an exhibition titled Through the Landscape of Zdeněk Sýkora, which is being held from 13 June through 20 July 2016 at the City of Louny Gallery at Vrchlický Theatre. www.gaml.cz

The celebration in the countryside will be preceded by a celebration in the city. The Sýkora 2020 association, in conjunction with the City of Louny and with the city’s financial support, will hold an event titled “The Magic of Light” on the evening of Friday, 15 July 2016. www.sykora2020.cz

A look back at Sykora’s Počedělice 2015 

The third annual memorial event represented another welcome opportunity for Zdeněk Sýkora’s friends to gather and meet. As every year, Počedělice prepared well for the hundreds of visitors. Tents were set up on the village green in case of rain or gruelling heat; volunteer firefighters directed traffic; the riverbanks and village green were neatly manicured. The audience heard short opening speeches by Mayor Eva Smetanová and Lenka Sýkorová. This time the village could also welcome a relatively large group of international visitors; interpreter Helena Stejskalová had her hands full. These visitors from afar also enjoyed the beautiful landscape and especially the atmosphere at the meeting. A special guest of the event was the director of Museum Kampa, 96-year-old Meda Mládková. During her short talk, she emphasised that she cherished Sýkora’s oeuvre as well as the friendship that had brought them together since the 1960s. One of Sýkora’s lifelong friends, Jan Jíra, took on the role of main speaker for the afternoon ceremony and shared his memories with the audience.

The final word went to Jiří Jiroutek, the chairman of the newly-established Sýkora 2020 association. He explained the association’s objectives and goals and asked for support and signatures for a petition asking the City of Louny to promote the integration of Sýkora’s art in the architecture of his home town. Perhaps no one will be surprised to learn that over two hundred signatures were gathered here; after all, the gathering in Počedělice was primarily attended by fans of Sýkora.

The hosts’ attentive service, this time provided by Sýkora’s old friends from the sauna plus new friends from the association and village, contributed to the friendly atmosphere that late afternoon. They barbecued meat and sausages, brewed coffee, tapped beer (additional thanks to Heineken for the sponsorship donation), and baked sweets and savouries. Their enthusiasm and good spirits were infectious and many remained until late in the evening, some even dancing on the village green. 

Lenka Sýkorová, 2016

"I’m a born landscape artist; what I like doing best is observing nature, people and anything that’s alive. In the course of my artistic development I got the feeling several times that I was betraying landscapes in Structures – when I went over to Structures and experimented with all the things that could be done so some sensitivity would still be there. However, Structures had no direct point of contact with nature. But with Lines, when the trees turn yellow about two months from now, then everything is thoroughly connected, paintings and nature, and it’s a great joy for me. I already know that all the while I’ve been working with Lines I’ve really returned to nature again. Even though the approaches are completely idiotically complicated and rational and cold – even with that kind of system, I still end up doing even freer things like those proper to nature, as if we were brothers. ... that feeling I’ve always had and still have about landscapes, is a feeling of freedom and open space."

Zdeněk Sýkora in an interview with Swiss art historian Hans Ulrich Obrist, Louny, 26 July 2003