Jiri Borsky was born near Pilsen, Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia), in 1945. At the age of 15 he moved with his parents to Prague, where he lived and studied for the next eight formative years.

Among the early, and lasting, influences were the marvellous 14th century Czech Gothic panel paintings he saw at the National Gallery there.

Jiri's first one-man exhibition was held in Malostranska Beseda, Prague, in 1966.

Following the Soviet invasion in 1968, Jiri came to England.

He married Patricia (née Garner) in 1972, and became a British citizen in 1975.

He enrolled to study painting (under principal lecturer Arthur Berry) and graduated with a BA (Hons) degree in 1979. His external assessor was William Gear.

Since then he has painted full time. Initially he supplemented his income with teaching, but has concentrated solely on studio work in recent years.

In his spare time Jiri enjoys organic gardening. Music (mainly jazz, but also folk and classical) is his passion and frequently inspires his work.

Jiri has exhibited widely. Over 2100 of his works are in many collections in Britain, Europe, North America and elsewhere.