Merta Jan *1952

White Glass (to volunteer firefighters), 2018

epoxy, pigment, glass, plywood, 108 × 69,7 × 4,7 cm, signed on the reverse by Jan Merta 2018 WHITE GLASS (VOLUNTARY FIREFIGHTERS)
The gaze, its mirroring, the exchange between the image and the viewer is reciprocity of relations of control and powerlessness, the attractive danger of beauty, the possibility that what the boxes contain is not a relic of love, but Pandora's legacy. It is the indecision of what it will do to us the necessity of participation in the world, our fascination with the world, the ambivalence of great emotions and urgent sensations, the line between participation and violence, the fascination with beauty that will elevate and destroy us. But one thing is certain: this insistence cannot be resisted, it cannot be bypassed, displaced, abolished, not allow it to pass. Emperor Charles, Jan Merta. Paintings and works on paper 1985-2005. Brno: Moravian Gallery in Brno, 2005, pp. 15-16 Jan Merta's paintings have made a significant impact in the Czech environment. in the Czech Republic since the late 1980s and since then since then, it has been one of the most important contributions to Czech contemporary painting. The artist's painter's approach was from the beginning directed towards lapidary pictorial expression, which was based on a specific subject, common objects, landscapes, figures or portraits, often combined with associated with personal experiences, but the resulting image was gradually liberated on the verge of abstraction. The titles therefore play an indispensable role of the works, which recall the link to a specific motif and often form the point of the work. Creating the impression of space in the painting, captured by by modulating light and especially colour, is one of the typical features of Mert's paintings. The theme of the painting also plays an important role for him and the medium of painting itself. Large-format virtuoso paintings with delicate colouring are represented in important Czech and foreign collections. Jan Merta 70% of the artist 30% of the tram driver, Galerie Zdeněk Sklenář, Prague 1, 5 December 2018 - 26 January 2019, My Dear Jesus, Galerie Zdeněk Sklenář, 1 December 2019 - 15 December 2019.