The opening took place place on Tuesday 12 December at 5 p.m.

This exhibition presents a selection of recent paintings by Pavel Forman. After a gap of several years, art-lovers in Ostrava will once again be able to experience Forman’s art, with a particular emphasis on figural works. The hybrid themes and formal aura of Forman’s paintings continue (and undoubtedly will continue) to be juxtaposed with his aesthetic and ethical judgements, expressed with a robustness that has ultimately cannibalized itself in the crucible of the artist’s tireless creative commitment. The formal aspect of Forman’s paintings has undergone a substantial transformation in recent years, with a greater emphasis on reductive approaches to colour and the construction of spaces and volumes.

Ostrava’s House of Art is the ideal location to encounter these works, as the viewer standing in front of the paintings is unable to observe anything beyond its walls. It is abundantly clear that the observer, having decided to enter this space, has entered into a form of symbiosis with the building and the works themselves. If you are observing the paintings, they are also observing you. If the paintings are observing you, you too are observing them. So let us wish that this exhibition, this celebration of painting, will be a genuine feast for the spirit – all you need is the courage to step inside the House of Art, resist the temptation to simply relax and switch off for while, and open yourself to new experiences.

Tomáš Koudela