Martin Mainer Blues Woods at Nova galerie, Vinohrady, Prague

Currently there is an exhibition in Nova galerie in Prague Vinohrady of a contemporary Czech artist Martin Mainer. Last week the artist gave a tour round his exhibited paintings. It turned into unexpectedly pleasant talk where Martin shared some of his thoughts and techniques while encouraging the audience to ask questions.

“First I have to empty my mind and then I paint what is not there.”  – Martin Mainer on his approach to painting

 

When asked who is his most fierce competitors, Martin admits that those are his students. He is teaching at AVU – the acclaimed Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.

 

 The aspect of randomness plays a big role in Martin’s current paintings. He applies the paint on large canvas and lets it flow over different layers.

 

When asked about what is better if to paint on a large canvas or a smaller canvas, Martin is explaining that currently he is doing large canvas paintings more but their size is still limited by what you can fit through the door. “Your arm movement is different when you paint, it is beautiful to paint on a large canvas. But is hard to sell” says Martin. “It is also more physically demanding“.

“I used to think that brown is not a color, but I don’t think that anymore.” Martin comments on his development through the years.

 

You can find more Martin Mainer’s art at: www.mainer.cz

The space of Nova galerie is worth a visit: novagalerie.cz