Famous Slovak painter Milan Laluha died on Sunday, one day before his 83rd birthday. According to historian Luboslav Moza, Laluha was one of the most recognized and popular Slovak artists.
Born in 1930, Laluha was one of the first artists who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava. In 1957 he co-founded a group of artists called the “Galandovci”, named after Mikuláš Galanda. The group of young painters opposing the regime was closely watched by the ruling party during the entire time of its existence. Laluha remained the member of the group until 1968 when it was forcibly dissolved. He himself was officially banned from exhibiting, teaching and organising thereafter, but this ban was never fully observed. The curator Juraj Mojžiš has described the painter as someone who really understands visual art. “In the years of socialist realism, Laluha gave back to visual art its very basis – what the colour can say, its traces, its flow or the firm, stark form,” he said.
Laluha’s last exhibition called “I found the motive” comprises of works from private collectors and not cultural institutions. Although it was supposed to end on Sunday, the curators have prolonged it until today, November 11.
