Fire and Rain

Returning to themes of body and power, Saudek renders two bodies, male and female, covered with wet drapery—a visual reference to Greco-Roman sculpture. Saudek’s works often address themes of battling sexes. Within that framework, 'Fire and Rain' alludes to primeval desires of humanity—love, lust, and attachment. The bodies reflect one another from the knee onward; their interconnectivity emphasizes the intimate connection the figures share. Saudek juxtaposes the two figures, displaying their differences and similarities with equal weight. Acting as opposing forces of nature, fire and rain, the male and female are simultaneously at odds and intertwined.

[Corey Gordon, wall text in "Suppression, Subversion, and the Surreal: The Art of Czechoslovakian Resistance," USC Fisher Museum of Art, March 9 - May 10, 2019.]