Michal Ranný belongs to the generation of artists whose artistic profile was formed in the sixties. He came from a family of artists, his father was Emanuel Ranný and his mother Zdenka née Samsonová. Even during his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts he was clearly a painter with a personal creative vision and considerable talent. From the start it was evident that landscape would become the domain of his work, which he portrayed and interpreted mainly using ink drawings and watercolours.
From 1961 to 65 Michal Ranný studied at the School of Applied Arts (SUPŠ) in Brno with Professor Jiří Coufal, and later at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague with Professors František Jiroudek and Jiří John. His early paintings were of the landscape of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, where he returned again and again and which were of huge inspiration to him. Jiří John, Josef Šíma and Robert Hliněnský had an undisputed influence on him. He applied himself with the same enthusiasm to suburban areas of Prague and the outdoors of the Central Bohemian Uplands and the footholds of Tišnov. He also travelled abroad, notably to Italy and France. It was France, specifically the island of Belle Ile, which had the greatest impact on him, and it was here that his interest was formed in horizontal curves. The motifs of rocks, his interest in natural elements of inorganic origin, especially the structure and colours of stones of the coast and sea, accompanied him for this rest of his life.
At the end of the sixties, around the time of a stay in Crikvenica, Yugoslavia, red began to find its was amongst the greys and browns of his watercolours. Other colours appeared over the years, especially blue and yellow. The early organic forms give way to geometrical, almost minimalistic systems. He gradually moved from realism to a form of abstraction involving gestural drawn lines and monochrome coloration. His work reaches its peak from the middle of the seventies of the 20th century employing ink washes, with which Michal Ranný enriched the current of Czech abstract and lyrical painting.
Michal Ranný organised many independent exhibitions and participated in many collective exhibitions at home and abroad. His work is to be found in our leading galleries. He died prematurely but was an exceptional artist whose importance extends beyond the boundaries of his own generation and places him amongst the most important Czech artists.
Every two years the Moravian Gallery in Brno awards the Michal Ranný Prize to an artist whose work and thinking has significantly influenced successive generations.
