Jiří Kolář was born on September 24, 1914 in Protivín.

He initially trained as a carpenter but until 1942 he worked in various professions. Since 1943 he has devoted himself exclusively to writing, mainly poetry. In 1949, he first attempted a pictorial interpretation of his poem. At the turn of the 50s and 60s, he switched almost entirely to the visual arts. In 1952 he was arrested for a manuscript of his poetry collection, in 1953 he was amnestied. Politics in the former Czechoslovakia continued to influence his life. He was one of the first to sign Charter 77. In 1979 the Czechoslovak authorities revoked his citizenship and did not allow him to return home from a study trip to the Federal Republic of Germany. He moved to Paris for 12 years. He was rehabilitated in 1992 and given back his Czech citizenship. From 1999 until his death in 2002, he lived in Prague.

He has made an artistic contribution to the renaissance of collage. He has created more than 100 specific collage methods. The main methods include rollages, chismages, mouchlage, prolages, etc. His works are represented in the world's most important collections such as MOMA and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Centre Pompidou in Paris, Ludwig Collection in Cologne and others.

Jiří Kolář is one of the most important, most complex and most remarkable Czech artistic personalities of the 20th century, who transcended the boundaries of Czech fine art.