ANTONIN GRIBOVSKY Untitled (Caught in the Rain), c. 1961. 11.1x14.5" gelatin silver print. Printed c. 1961. Artist stamp in red ink on print verso; titled in black ink; salon stamp in purple ink.

Antonin Gribovsky was born on June 29, 1933 in Brno Czechoslovakia. As a small boy Gribovsky was introduced to photography by the noted Czech photographer K.O. Hrub, who encouraged him to join the Brno photo club. He studied sculpture and woodcutting for a short time under Professor J. Vanek. He later worked as a mechanic engineer in the "Zbrojovka" Arms Factory in Brno. Then from 1961 to 1963, he became an industrial photographer in the machine works factory in Prerov.

He has been a freelance photographer since 1964, often working on architectural assignments. He joined the SCSVU in 1960 and the CFVU in 1977. Along with Slavoj Kovarik, Gribovsky was a founding member of the influential DOFO group in Olomouc, Czech Republic, whose aim, as writer Milan Kundera put it, was "to show in concrete objects the tangible visual magic of the real world." Other members of the group included: Vaclav Zykmund, Jaroslav Vávra, Vojtech Sapara and Vilem Reichmann.

He had created cycles (or series) of "optical poems" beginning at the end of the 1950s. By the beginning of the 1960s, he had started his experiments based on the technique of solarization. Both methods had existential hidden meanings for Gribovsky. He later made use of the same principals in his cycle "Interpretation" (of old Olomouc). He specialized in industrial product photography in his last years.

Gribovsky won many photography prizes, including in 1960, Gold medal Frank Fraprie Memorial, Boston; 1961, Medal El Gaucho, Rosario, Argentina; 1964, Honorable mention UNESCO, Paris; 1966, Silver medal: North Moravian district in photography; 1966, Honorable mention for co-authoring the book "30 Springs of Freedom," Ostrava. Gribovsky authored "Ostravsko Ve Fotografii. Ostrave" in 1972 and "Olomoucko/Antonin Gribovsky" in 1977. He exhibited at the House of Art, Olomouc in 1960; Moscow International Exhibition of Art Photography in 1961; House of Men from Kuntat (Dum panu z Kuntatu), Brno in 1962; Fotochema, Prague in 1962; Exhibition Hall in Ostrava in 1978; Astronomical Clock in Olomouc in 1988; and in Berlin in 1985.

There are images and information on Gribovsky in Birgus and Mlcoch, "Czech Photography of the 20th Century: A Guide," pp.89 and 91; "The Encyclopedia of Czech and Slovak photographers," ASCO, Prague 1993; and the "Lexicon of Czech and Slovak Visual Artists 1950-1998," Chagall, Ostrava 1998. He is also listed in Auer & Auer's database. Gribovsky died in Olomouc on May 31, 1989.

Very good. Minor scratching on print surface.