Otto Mizera

Biography of Otto Mizera

Otto Mizera (May 29, 1919 – October 21, 1958) was a Czech surrealist and cubist artist, translator and publicist. He is known for his involvement in the surrealist movement and his contribution to cubist art.
After graduating from the Real Grammar School in Libni in 1938, Mizera met Zdeněk Lorence, a future member of the surrealist group Ra. Together they went to France to study at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University, but their stay was interrupted by the closure of Czech universities by the Nazis. In 1939 they founded the Green Rose Theatre, which operated only briefly.
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After the universities closed, Mizera worked in publishing at Topič and became a librarian. From 1940 to 1942, he studied figurative drawing and portraiture at the Mánesa school with Vladimír Sychra. He collaborated with the surrealist group Ra and published his collection *Torn Dolls* in 1942. After World War II, Mizera briefly enrolled in architecture but dropped out in 1945. He visited Paris in 1946 and settled there in 1947, where he devoted himself exclusively to fine arts. Influenced primarily by the Cubist period of Pablo Picasso, he continued to develop his artistic style until his death. Otto Mizera committed suicide on October 21, 1958. His work remains marked by his commitment to Surrealism and Cubism, and he is recognized for his unique contributions to these artistic movements.
His artistic legacy is valued for his ability to fuse surrealist and cubist influences into a distinctive style.