Czech Republic: Famous Romani artist Rudolf Dzurko passes away

After a long and difficult illness, the famous Romani artist Rudolf Dzurko passed away on Sunday, 23 June shortly before his 72nd birthday. His creations were primarily characterized by his original pictures made from ground glass.

Rudolf Dzurko was born on 1 July 1941 in Pavlovice (Prešov district) in eastern Slovakia. In 1945 his father Vojtěch moved the family to northern Bohemia.

Since 1969 the family has lived in Skalice, where Rudolf began creating sculptures of sandstone and wood, as well as his unique pictures made from ground glass glued to sheets of glass. He began exhibiting in 1974 and participated in 40 group and independent exhibitions in the Czech Republic and abroad.

Mr Dzurko created his art in his spare time. He apprenticed as a cobbler and made his living as a turner, a mason (he worked on the "Koldom" or "Collective Building" in Litvínov), a construction worker (on drainage improvements, construction of breakwaters on the German coast, electrification of railway transportation), a stoker, an assistant driver, a glass factory worker, a deliveryman, etc. Since the mid-1980s he lived in Prague on a partial disability pension. He made extra money producing wooden miniatures and jewelry and selling them on the Charles Bridge.

Rudolf Dzurko is one of the most outstanding figures in Czech art of the second half of the 20th century. His works are represented in private and public collections worldwide.

In 1996 Mr Dzurko was awarded the Revolver Revue Prize. In 2002 a Czech and German edition of a monograph about him was published.

On Saturday, 29 June, the "O Roma vakeren" program on Czech Radio will re-broadcast a previously recorded interview with Rudolf Dzurko at 20:05.