Josef Stejskal

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Josef 'Pepča' Stejskal is a legendary figure of Brno sub culture during the 1970s in Czechoslovakia. Labelled as a 'poet, artist, surrealist and protagonist', he was well known within the Brno 'counter culture' which opposed the communist regime at the time. Born in Moravian town Kromeriz, he later moved to Brno as a young man full of ambitions.

In Brno, he established himself amongst the theatrical and literary circles of the time. Noted for his poetry and his artwork, he became best known for his theater posters which contained his unique brand of surrealism and humour. This unique style was popular with the people, but not with the communist regime, and it eventually landed him in 'hot water'; in 1978, he was forced to flee his motherland and ended up in far-away Sydney, Australia. This was good news for the theater scene in Australia as it was in long awaited need of something new and edgy, and Pepca brought this with his unique style and injected it with authority into the local theater scene.

He is also known as Josef Lada Stejskal

An image gallery of Josef Stejskal's best-known artworks can be found at the National Gallery of Australia.