JOSEF KOTZIAN
(1889-1960, Czechoslovakia)
Ostravian designer and machinist whose precisely-dated drawings form a monochromatic compendium of other-worldly botany. With every drawing rendered in astonishing detail, it was the refined precision of each pencil stroke which bolstered Kotzian’s reputation. He eventually adopted the pen-name Solferino and went on to become a figurehead for spiritualist art, with works exhibited internationally and a lasting influence on subsequent mediumistic artmakers.