Mainer Martin *1959

Untitled, 1992-96

coloured woodcut, paper, frame, glass, 46 × 79 cm, signed lower right MAINER 92-96
Martin Mainer belongs to the generation of artists whose work was shaped by during the 1980s in the environment of Prague exhibitions Confrontations and the circle of artists of the Hardheads group. Mainer's being painterly nature with a strong imagination and expressiveness, together with an almost baroque imagery, made him a distinctive representative of this generation. Paintings from this period are characterized by a strong artistic vision that that goes beyond the seen world. Thanks to the Jindřich Chalupecký Prize, which he received in 1993, he traveled to America, where he learned about Hindu teachings (like Vladimir Kokolia), which in a fundamental way influenced the author's spiritual direction and was also reflected in the themes of of his paintings. Martin Mainer studied from 1978 to 1981 at the University of School of Art and Industry in Prague and in 1981-1985 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Since 1998 he has taught at the Faculty of Fine Arts Brno, where he became associate professor (2002) and professor (2004). 2012 he has been the head of the painting studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.