Josef Šíma was one of the biggest names in modern Czech art and a key figure of the European avant-garde. Studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Šíma moved to Paris in the 1920s where he befriended poets and artists of the Surrealist and abstract movements. His early work was influenced by cubism and symbolism, later evolving into lyrical abstraction searching for metaphysical light and cosmic harmony.

Šíma’s art went beyond the material to express a deep spiritual vision. Through colour fields and ethereal compositions he wanted to reveal the invisible forces of nature and existence – what he called “poésie de la lumière”. His paintings are a meditative dialogue between matter and mystery, science and transcendence, so he is one of the most poetic abstract artists of the 20th century.