Marta Kolářová (1976) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (2005), having studied at the studio headed by Professor Michael Rittstein. She is inspired by the peripheral industrial landscapes of the Ostrava region. The city is at the core of her work – and it is not just any city. Kolářová listens to her inner voice and continues to paint Marta Kolářová superficially unattractive, forlorn Ostrava motifs and inhospitable scenes from the urban landscape – particularly in fog or smog, in the rain or the February sleet, during the night or in the early dawn half-light.
Yet the rawness of Ostrava hides within it a form of beauty – an excitement and an inner strength which is lacking in other cities and landscapes that have enjoyed a more harmonious, less turbulent history. Kolářová is well aware of this beauty when she paints forlorn everyday urban scenes and ordinary things. Her work always emerges from authentic experience – the world that not only surrounds her, but speaks to her. Her use of colour is very restrained, bordering on the colourless – though grey and black are colours in their own right, offering a huge range of subtle nuances. Many photographers are aware of this fact, choosing to depict the world only on a black-to-white scale. Indeed, a high-quality black-and-white image can be more expressive than a vividly coloured one, especially in the case of Ostrava. In any case, Kolářová’s choice of colours is absolutely appropriate for the expressive message she seeks to convey. Kolářová uses painting to overcome her melancholy and feelings of emptiness. It is through her paintings that she communicates with the world. Her path is a difficult and risky one, yet at the same time it is purposeful and fulfilling.

Milan Weber

Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava