Milan KNIZAK (1940) "Black Sheep" collage - oil on canvas, 139 cm x 212 cm, signed, inscribed and dated 1989 at the backside, Milan Knizak is a Czech performance artist and musician who organized the first Fluxus actions in the Czech Republic. Knížák began painting with the age of fourteen. His first exhibition took place in Mariánské Lázně in 1958. His early work was influenced by painter and war veteran Vladimír Modrý (1907-1976). In the early 1960s he turned to happenings and installations. In 1962, together with Jan Mach, Vít Mach, Sonia Švecová, Jan Trtílek and Robert Wittmann, he founded the artist group Aktuální umění, which was renamed AKTUAL in 1966. "A Walk around Novy Svět (New World)" and the "Demonstration for Oneself” from 1964 were early actions that took place on the streets and backyards of Prague. Some of his works are part of the collection of the museum FLUXUS+ in Potsdam. Milan Knížák was director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague from 1990 to 1997 and was a professor there until he retired. From 1999 to 2011 he was appointed director of the National Gallery in Prague.