Josef Kotzian

Josef Kotzian (KOCIÁN) was an Ostravian designer and machinist whose precisely-dated drawings formed a monochromatic compendium of an other-worldly botany. The artist adopted the pen-name Solferino and went on to become a figurehead for spiritualist art of the region and a lasting influence on subsequent mediumistic artmakers.

Kotzian's artworks can be found in the permanent collections of Centre Pompidou, Paris, Olomouc Museum of Art, Olomouc and Museum of Modern Art, Lille. Exhibitions include Floral Fantasies at Wilhelm-Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen (2019), The Medium’s Medium at The Gallery of Everything, London (2019), and The Botanical Mind at Camden Art Centre, London (2021).