(Prague 1912–1990)
Yellow balloon, oil on canvas on board, 27 x 16.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Karel Koželka Collection (1909–1992)
his heirs

Karel Koželka was born in Vienna on 1 July 1909. He began his studies in Státní odborná škola pro zpracování dřeva in Valašské Meziříčí and subsequently accepted at Umělecko-průmyslová škola in Prague, where he entered the atelier of architect Pavel Janák (1882–1956). He completed his studies in 1933 and worked for Svaz československého díla until 1948. Koželka specialised as an architect, focussing on furniture design and living space, but also designed numerous buildings in Brno and Prague. In 1947, his table and set of chairs won a silver medal an the Triennale di Milano. Between 1958 and 1969, he worked for the Ústředí uměleckých řemesel in Prague, and was subsequently appointed director of the housing department in Ústav bytové a oděvní kultury. Koželka was also very active as a theorist of housing culture. His collection of paintings consisted mostly of works by his contemporaries and friends – members of the Skupina 42 art group, including Kamil Lhoták, František Gross and Jan Smetana, the painter Karel Černý and Josef Liesler. Karel Koželka died in Pernarec, Czechoslovakia, on 16 October 1992.