The illustrator Martin Velíšek (*1963) graduated in glass art at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. His glass art represented the Czech Republic at the EXPO World Exhibition in Japan in 2005. He is the main “visual artist” of the alternative punk band Už jsme doma and a regular illustrator of the Czech weekly Týden. Besides Greenlandic Myths and Legends, he illustrated many other books including Božena Němcová´s classic The Grandmother.

Velíšek´s exhibition of raw and grotesque illustrations was presented for the first time in September 2008 in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, as part of the project Czech days in Greenland. Afterwards the exhibition travelled around Greenland (Narsaq, Qaqortoq, Maniitsoq, Sisimiut and Ilulissat). At the end of the year 2009 the exhibition travelled to Denmark, where it was first presented at the Czech Embassy in Copenhagen, in the house of Knud Rasmussen in Hundested and later also at other places in Denmark.

Ambassador Zdeněk Lyčka by the exhibition of illustrations; foto Hasse Ferrold

Danish-Greenlandic polar explorer Knud Rasmussen collected most of the Greenlandic myths and legends and translated  them into Danish. From his extensive work, a selection of Greenlandic Myths and Legends was published in Czech (Argo Publishing House 1998, second edition 2007, translation: Viola and Zdeněk Lyčka).

Exhibition of illustrations by Martin Velíšek
 

The travelling exhibition´s journey in Denmark

Copenhagen - Christiania
6 – 21 April 2013
Gallopperiet - Stadens Museum For Kunst
Invitation (JPG, 738 KB)
Exhibition Opening (DOC, 4 MB)

Media:
Daily Sermitsiaq
Baltic-travel.com

Aalborg
5 February – 1 April 2013
The Greenlandic House in Aalborg
Invitation
Exhibition Opening

Media
Daily Sermitsiaq

Odense
15 November 2012 – 14 January 2013
The Greenlandic House in Odense
Invitation to the exhibition opening
Invitation to the exhibition
Exhibition Opening

Media
Daily Sermitsiaq

Copenhagen
14 June – 31 August 2012
The Greenlandic House in Copenhagen
Invitation

The Faroe Islands
12 – 16 May 2012
Czech days in the Faroe Islands

Skive
29 January – 3 April 2011
Skive Museum
Invitation to the exhibition opening
Poster
Exhibition Opening – Opening speech in Greenlandic
Invitation to the lecture Knud Rasmussen and Greenlandic Myths and Legends
Lecture Knud Rasmussen and Greenlandic Myths and Legends

Hundested
21 June – 24 October 2010
Knud Rasmussens Hus
Exhibition Opening

Embassy of the Czech Republic
Lecture
26 January 2010

Literature Evening
3 December 2009
Invitation in English
Invitation in Greenlandic

Greenland
2008 - 2009
Ilulissat
Sisimiut
Maniitsoq
Qaqortoq
Narsaq
Nuuk – Czech Days in Greenland

Lectures

Vrchlabí
25 August 2011

Brno
1 June 2011

Czech Centre Prague
13 October 2010

Sweden
14 May 2010
Kyrkekvarn