Roman Franta is one of the most distinctive and original figurative artists in post-revolutionary Czech painting. In the series Books and Bookworms, he transforms the motifs of books, shelves, and the literary world into a distinctive painterly grid—a symbol and metaphor for human knowledge and memory, as well as for obsession and the search for identity within a labyrinth of stories.

Franta’s large-format paintings captivate with their visual dynamism, rich colors, and confident brushwork. The spines of books, stacks of volumes, and figures of bookworms on his canvases create a fascinating rhythmic structure straddling the boundaries of reality, the grotesque, and the surreal.

The exhibition Books and Bookworms at Graciano Gallery presents a representative selection of the artist’s works from recent years. It offers a glimpse into a world where humor and exaggeration meet existential tension, and where the seemingly quiet space of a library serves as a living mirror of contemporary humanity.