Martin Mrkva
(CZ)
Martin Mrkva (born 1989) studied at the Secondary School of Applied Arts in Bechyně (2006–2010) and continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in the Printmaking Studio II under Vladimír Kokolia (2011–2017), where emphasis is placed on experimentation and openness of thought. He lives and works in Kralupy nad Vltavou.
Martin uses oil painting techniques, utilizing paper as a substrate to allow for freedom and expansive gestures. He operates within several thematic cycles, revisiting them periodically over time.
The human figure is almost omnipresent in his work, appearing both explicitly and through "quasi-models," such as bread rolls. With the same passion he applies to the figure, he also devotes himself to still lifes, exploring the beauty and transience of material existence through flowers and skeletal motifs.
His style is characterized by a nearly Baroque-expressive intensity. Martin's work is openness itself - light breaking through dark chords. Tragedy and resurrection. An encounter between light and darkness, where one ceases to have meaning without the other.
(Photo © Luboš Jelínek)
