The twin brothers Zdeněk and Ivo Marek were born on December 18, 1966 in Vyškov. Zdeněk studied agroecology and law. At present he works as a tourism manager. Ivo studied dental medicine and orthodoncy, he runs a private dental clinic called STOMMA and belongs among leading Czech specialists in orthodoncy. Zdeněk Marek began collecting contemporary art in 1999 and his brother Ivo joined him in 2005. The two key figures who helped to establish the collection were the artist Milan Houser and later the curator Marika Kupková and that is why we may say that the Marek Collection does not represent the personal taste of one collector but the collection originated as a systematical joint effort.
The collectors focus particularly on the work of young beginning artists, they purchase works of art by young artists and thus provide testimony to the energy of artists who have just entered the art scene. Simultaneously they purchase recent works by artists whose work is already represented in their collection, which means that they create a certain profile of the generation of artists who began their career in the late 1990s.
The collectors ́ interest in new media, installations and video art is rather unique since this type of art is not a common commodity. However, the Marek Collection is not influenced by business speculations, but on the contrary it shows how enthusiastic and genuinely dedicated the collectors are to contemporary art and artists.
http://www.marekcollection.cz/
Tereza Jindrová
