Folk Art School – Jan Merta and with him Jasanský-Polák
WEDNESDAY 13 September / From 6.00 PM
The exhibition of Jan Merta (born 1952) at Ústí nad Labem House of Arts, titled “Folk Art School,” thematically draws from the author’s memories associated with the period of his adolescence, which he experienced in this city between 1966 and 1972. However, memories deeply ingrained in the grooves of Ústí only form the initiating concept of the exhibition, to intertwine with events currently being experienced. In the presented collection, initiated by several juvenile paintings that the author created in Ústí nad Labem and a small bundle of photographs by Lukáš Jasanský and Martin Polák “documenting” Merta’s Ústí realities, works inspired by family background, environmental concerns, and, last but not least, the ongoing Russian war frenzy in Ukraine come together. Even though the more recent conflicts of the contemporary world, which Jan Merta endeavors to confront with focused reflection imprinted in the lines, surfaces, and depths of his paintings, may seem distant from his upbringing in Ústí nad Labem, it is clear that the opposite is true.
Duration of the exhibition: 14 September 2023 — 25 November 2023
Exhbibitors: Jan Merta and with him Jasanský–Polák
Curator: Michal Koleček