by Karly K.

Inside the Egon Schiele exhibit.

The Egon Schiele Gallery houses one permanent display and three exhibitions. Shiele was an inter-war artist, who fought in World War I. He was fascinated by the nature around the town in which his mother grew up, Česky Krumlov, where the gallery of his namesake now stands. He befriended many other artists of the time period and was mentored by Gustav Klimt. He died at 28, having created 330 paintings. His art style is vaguely unnerving, the angles in people’s faces only slightly too sharp, their shapes distinct against empty backgrounds.

The three other artists exhibited within the gallery produce art of the contemporary nature. The first floor contains the works of M.S. Bastian and Isabelle L., both of whom grew up in Biel and have traveled often. They now continue to collaborate on exhibits all over Europe. Their style/exhibit is called Bastokalypse & Bastomania, and their style is cartoonish and busy; creepy, yet fun and wild. The other two artists, Vera Novakova and Pavel Brazda, are an old couple, and take up most of the two upper floors of the gallery. Their exhibits are titled “Retrospective,” and they’ve spent most of their lives together, married since 1950. While his works have more bright, crazed images with what seems like cubist influence, she chooses to work with more muted colors and varying mediums.