Dusan Kadlec

Who is Dusan Kadlec?

Dusan Kadlec, MFA, CSMA is a Canadian painter, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He pursued his interest in art from a very early age, ultimately studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague where he received a Masters Degree in 1967. His studies there covered twenty-two subjects, including bookbinding, papermaking, drawing, painting, portraiture, as well as the more conventional subjects of history, political economics, languages, and math. His undergraduate and graduate training focused on traditional painting techniques but also explored aspects of sculpture, jewellery design, art restoration, and architecture. While a student at the academy, he specialized in figurative painting and portraiture. This European academic training is apparent in his painting style. The composition of his canvases reflects the tradition of the great European masters, and embodies the Romantic Classicism that is a nineteenth-century academic trademark.

Upon graduation Kadlec began to exhibit and receive both private and state commissions. After completing his Masters, he was fortunate to be able to make a living as an artist in his homeland. Most of his early works were commercial art projects but he also contributed to a number of exhibitions, and was invited to participate in the design of Man and His World, the Czech pavilion at the 1967 World Expo in Montreal. The pavilion turned out to be one of the most popular exhibits at the fair and was a hit with both critics and crowds.