I thought that at the age of sixty a painter should finally wake up from his dreams and paint something worthwhile.

Forty years ago I began with an introverted Hussite and planned to continue with paintings that had certain references to history.

For I long time I painted, or rather didn’t paint, and it wasn’t working. The images on the prepared canvases (mostly of the same format, for me a small one) took on a life of their own. The forced me to stop fearing almost infantile simplicity and varying degrees of poignancy. They did not, however, allow compromising on precision, and I had to seek what they resonated with inside my ego.

Images always made things difficult for me. And it gets harder and harder.

Now I don’t think it’s possible at all for a painter to unleash himself from his dreams, whether at the age of sixty or earlier or later.

And I myself am very curious how these morsels will compose themselves into one Appetizer and what will come after it.

Jan Merta, 24 February 2016

The exhibition Appetizer consisted of Jan Merta´s most recent paintings 
is launching SVIT´s new exhibition space in Prague 2.