Jirí Georg Dokoupil Czech Republic, b. 1954

Jiří Georg Dokoupil (b. 1954, Krnov, Czech Republic) is a multifaceted artist whose career has been defined by constant reinvention and formal experimentation. Raised in Prague and later based in West Germany, he studied art in Cologne, Frankfurt, and at the Cooper Union in New York. In the early 1980s, he co-founded the Mülheimer Freiheit group, which challenged the dominance of Minimalism and Conceptual art at the time, advocating for a vibrant, figurative painting free from dogma.

Dokoupil is renowned for his refusal to adopt a single, signature style, choosing instead to explore unconventional techniques and experimental processes. Among his most celebrated series are the Soap Bubble Paintings, created by blowing pigment and soap onto the canvas; the Candle Soot Paintings, made with candle smoke; and works using sprayed pigment, bicycle wheels, and even whips. This playful yet radical approach reflects his deep interest in the physicality of painting and the transformation of materials. Over more than four decades, Dokoupil has held solo exhibitions at leading museums and galleries across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, and has participated in major international shows such as Documenta and the Venice Biennale. His work is represented in the collections of institutions including the Centre Pompidou, Museo Reina Sofía, Hamburger Bahnhof, and Kunsthaus Zürich, securing his place as one of the most inventive and versatile figures in contemporary painting.

Selected Exhibitions 

2025 – Bubbles in the Castle, Valdemars Slot, Dinamarca

2024 – Venetian Bubbles, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Veneza

2024 – Film Paintings, Galerie Andrea Caratsch, St. Moritz

2023 – Broken Concepts and False Memories, Galleri Susanne Ottesen, Copenhague

2021 – Retrospective, Osthaus Museum, Hagen

2020 – Solo Exhibition, Galerie Michael Haas, Zurique

2015 – New Paintings, Paul Kasmin Gallery, Nova York

2005 – Paintings in the 21st Century – Works 1981–2005, Deichtorhallen, Hamburgo

2003 – Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Gran Canaria

2002 – Paintings, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid

1999 – Solo Exhibition, Château de Chenonceau, France

1997 – Exhibitions em Museum Moderner Kunst (Ludwig), Viena, e Neues Museum, Weimar

1993 – Sala Amárica, Vitoria-Gasteiz 

1984 – Museu Folkwang (Essen), Kunstmuseum Luzern, Groninger Museum, Espace Lyonnais d’Art Contemporain

1986–1987 – Galeria Brunō Bischofberger, Zurique; Ileana Sonnabend Gallery; Leo Castelli Gallery, New York

1982 – Documenta 7, Kassel

Collections

– Centre Pompidou, Paris

– Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid

– Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin

– Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart

– Sammlung Ludwig 

– Kunsthaus Zürich

– Boijmans Van Beuningen, Roterdã

– Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid 

– National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seol

– Sonnabend Collection, New York

– Deutsches Bank Collection, Frankfurt

– Museu CAAM – Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Gran Canaria

– Groninger Museum, Groningen

– Museum Folkwang, Essen

– Kunstsammlungen zu Weimar (Neues Museum), Weimar

– Museu Ostwall, Dortmund

– Hammer Museum, Los Angeles