At the beginning, there was the ocean.
And a young man who dreamed of distant horizons.

Vladimír Lekeš traveled half the world as a sailor.
From the decks of ships, he watched ports where salt mingled with the scent of wood, paint, and art.
One day, in the Indian city of Madras, he stepped into a shop full of English antiques.
He had no money — only curiosity.
And that became his greatest capital.

After the revolution, he traded the sea for paintings.
He began dealing in art — first in apartments and attics, later in world galleries.
It wasn’t school that made him an expert, but years of silence before canvases.
Trial, error, humility.

“To recognize fake paintings,” he says, “you must first learn to recognize fake stories.”

Today, he is one of the most respected figures in the European art market.
He sells works by František Kupka, Toyen, and Josef Šíma, and collaborates with leading galleries around the world.
And yet he speaks with the calm of a man who knows that authenticity cannot be auctioned.

This episode of Červená nit is about art that changes people.
About patience that cannot be rushed.
And about values that endure, even when everything else grows old.

Perhaps it’s also about the red thread that connects the world of art and the world of helping others —
the one that ties beauty to responsibility.
The same thread that continues through mySOLULU.com,
a project where authenticity isn’t a pose, but a path.

🎧 Listen to the story of Vladimír Lekeš.
You might just find a piece of your own canvas in it.