Dana Sahánková (*1984, Prague) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (2005-2011; Drawing Studio/School of Jitka Svobodová; 2009 New Media Studio II/School of Veronika Bromová). In 2010, her solo exhibition Chtěla bych to vědět took place at the GHMP in Prague as part of the Start Up series; in 2011, she presented her work at the group exhibition Czech Painting of the Generation of the Zero Years of the 21st Century at the Wannieck Gallery in Brno; and in 2012, she was a finalist for the Critics’ Prize. Other group exhibition projects she has participated in include The Dragon Awakens at the National Gallery in Prague (2014), the exhibition Concussions in Leipzig, Germany (2017), the exhibition project Postconceptual Contraception (OGV Jihlava, 2017; GKK, Klatovy, 2018 and Galerie 1 in Prague, 2020) and the exhibition States of Uncertain Domesticities at Haus Kunst Mitte in Berlin (2025). She has presented her work, among others, in solo exhibitions at GASK, Kutná Hora (2016), Trafo Gallery, Prague (2019), House of Art, České Budějovice (2022) and in 2023 at the exhibition Inwardnesses of Transformation at the Václav Špála Gallery, Prague.
Dana Sahánková has been working with large format drawing for a long time. A distinctive element of her works is the motif of fur as a homogeneous mass, from which the bodies of animals, plants or space-creating elements of the image emerge. The main themes have gradually bridged from the reflection of family relations to their generalisation through mythological insight. The ever-present symbolic realm of animals is permeated by fragments of mythical creatures of the “world beyond the horizon”, evoking a dreamlike atmosphere in the paintings.
