Filip Drábek: A Visual Diary of Fleeting Moments
here is something quietly diaristic about Filip Drábek’s work — as if each canvas carried the weight of a specific month, a feeling, a moment suspended in time. His paintings move between abstraction and emotion, personal memory and global events, capturing fleeting states rather than fixed narratives. War, politics, history, but also intimacy, partnership, childhood echoes and everyday rituals all coexist in his visual language.
What draws me in just as much is the way Filip shares his world beyond the studio — a visual diary lived alongside his partner, fashion designer Alexander Bel, where daily moments, interiors, travels and quiet gestures unfold with natural elegance. Silent symmetry, light leaning against walls like resting memories, design speaking softly rather than loudly.
In this Atelier Conversation, Filip opens up about loss, music, Paris, autumn walks, discipline versus chaos, and why sometimes a smile, falling leaves or a vinyl record can carry as much meaning as history itself.
Atelier Conversations — Filip Drábek
When was the last time something moved you so deeply that you thought: I need to transform this into my work?
The last time was the death of Alexei Navalny. It affected me deeply, and I eventually did transform it into my work.
Which colour or texture would capture your current mood — and why?
Probably Venetian yellow and beige. For me, these are positive colours, and I try to stay positive — even when it isn’t easy.
What helps you reconnect with yourself when you get lost in your own creative process?
Music, most of all. I have a turntable at home, and Alex and I collect vinyl records. I also like running around Vyšehrad and spending time with my friends.
What fascinates you at the moment — in life, in light, in people, in details?
When someone smiles at me. And those everyday, ephemeral feelings in general — when I sense autumn in the air and hear the leaves falling.
Is there a place you return to when you need to feel creative energy again?
Definitely Paris. I spent my youth there. I was last there in September, and it was beautiful to return — with a touch of melancholy — to my twenties, walking through narrow streets and drinking coffee in a park. And when I’m not in Paris, it’s my grandmother’s garden. She has a large garden with an apple orchard and a pond where water lilies and small fish float.
What does your creative chaos look like, and how do you keep balance within it?
I’m not chaotic — I’m more systematic. And that’s sometimes the problem. I probably need to be more chaotic and stop scheduling every day down to the minute.
If you could exhibit only one single piece of your work that speaks for everything you do — which one would it be?
Probably my entire body of work in one room — as a whole.
What is your favourite ritual that has nothing to do with creating?
A long walk with my dog in the park, coffee on a bench at Vyšehrad, and playing vinyl records. Especially in autumn, this really gives me energy.
I’m not chaotic — I’m more systematic. And that’s sometimes the problem. I probably need to be more chaotic and stop scheduling every day down to the minute.
What does it mean to you to be an artist in 2025?
I think about it this way: it’s important to me that people like my work and that it brings them joy. I have collectors in the Czech Republic and abroad — and that is my main driving force.
What does your ideal work-free Sunday look like?
Me, Alex and the dog in nature — that’s my ideal Sunday. A regular day usually starts around seven in the morning, then a walk with the dog, and afterwards the studio, where I stay until the afternoon.
Which film, book or song is accompanying you at the moment?
Probably Madonna’s Where Life Begins and the film Billy Elliot.
Filip Drábek (*1993) is a Czech painter based in Prague, working primarily with abstract mixed-media painting rooted in automatism and expressive gesture. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, his canvases function as visual records of personal experience and wider social, cultural and political realities. His work often reflects contemporary history — from the war in Ukraine to the funeral of Alexei Navalny — while remaining deeply introspective and intimate.
Filip is part of the Sure Curated brand and has exhibited at UNLIKELY Store, with works featured in interiors and fashion contexts, including Elle Decoration Czech. Alongside his painting practice, he collaborates closely with fashion designer Alexander Bel as a guest artist and creative contributor, blurring the lines between art, design and everyday visual storytelling.