Jiří Georg Dokoupil

Jiří Georg Dokoupil, a Czech-German painter and graphic artist, was born on June 3, 1954, in Krnov, then Czechoslovakia. After the Soviet invasion in 1968, he immigrated to Germany with his family. He pursued his art education between 1976 and 1978 in Cologne, Frankfurt, and at Cooper Union in New York, where he studied under conceptual artist Hans Haacke. In 1979, he became a founding member of German art groups such as Mülheimer Freiheit and Junge Wilde, which were prominent representatives of the neo-expressionist movement in the 1980s and 1990s. Inspired by Dadaism, he combined different techniques and styles in his art. He is particularly known for using unconventional materials such as colored soap bubbles, candle smoke, and film stills. Dokoupil's works are featured in many important collections and museums worldwide. He also served as a professor at art academies in Düsseldorf and Madrid. He currently lives and continues his work in Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, Plovdiv, Dakar, and Las Palmas.