2024 Finalists

The change in the age census provided to me an opportunity to participate in the Young Painter Prize again, and at the same time, it encouraged me to reflect on my previous applications and also to consider who this young painter is in its essence. Since I am participating in the YPP for the fifth time, it can be said that I have some experience of being a Young/Painter. I will take a look at who this young painter is, and I will use my previous applications and paintings with which I applied for this title as material.

If we take on a brief deconstruction, this year’s age census intrigued me with its symbolic number of 18-33. The United Nations website states that a young person is defined as one aged 18-30. Well, the painter has become quite a flexible concept considering the contestants and winners of the main prize in recent years. Therefore, my application and participation in this year’s competition can be considered as an incursion, or perhaps as my caricature due to the abovementioned easily changing definitions of the young painter and the age censor. Therefore, I will retrospectively try to review the previous and new applications and pinch myself.

2017 Persecution, mixed technique, 170×180. I remember well that formally I had a lot of problems with the paint, in other words – with the material. I was lost between motives, this is also reflected in the submitted application. As I mentioned in that text at the time, I am experimenting with the technique – pouring, applying, and spray painting. There was a search not only for the motives but also in the performance itself. The color ratio of pinks, greens, reds, adding gray halftones – in portraits. Motifs – iconic personalities, archetypal images, signs, symbols. The main painting depicted a pink cross, with its frontal composition, and large format. Indecisiveness in form automatically dictated performance problems. The text was stuffed with ideas and influences. Therefore, the application is rather distorted and does not live up to expectations. I was naive.

2018 Kazius@Louvre, oil on canvas, 113×130. The submitted application seems far better than the first one conceptually. A more distinct rationale. The main painting is done more technically, the method of appropriation is used. The motifs themselves are still difficult to correlate with each other, but “the paint sticks more firmly to the canvas”, there are fewer questions about skill because the chosen form is quite primitive. The main painting does not fit stylistically with the other presented paintings, which seem closer to what could be called punk painting. Inconsistent.

2020 RUDD, printing ink, aerosol on canvas, 210×180. After a year’s break, there is a turning point and a qualitative leap. I was very critical of my options. “After being saturated with the flow of visual information and having tried various techniques in painting, I finally concluded that there is no place for me in painting par excellence. Due to the habit, the desire to color, paint, toss, and contradict oneself, without finding a coherent creative line (since certain influences and stubbornness, which turned into a certain hermetic state, did not give the desired fruits). As I have mentioned before, I stick to the label of “painter” (such as a person who paints walls, not paints on canvas)”. According to my past self – from conventional painting, I gradually move to aerosol painting. The main painting, although not composed correctly, aptly divides my creative path as a painter into two parts. Progress.

2021 M.R. Agnus Dei, aerosol on canvas, 180×230. No more oil paint, brush, stroke; a distinct form. The motifs are not chosen randomly, the accompanying paintings complement each other. And yet, the application text feels like there is too much of a desire to be overly intelligent, the concept itself is not bad, but the instructions are tiring. Therefore, the concept and the works do not crystallize into one. However, the effort was not in vain, I received a prize established by the MO Museum. A sense of clear direction.

2024 “Epigone – (Greek: epigoni – offspring): 1. an undistinguished imitator, follower, or successor of an important writer, painter, etc.; 2. a less distinguished follower or imitator of someone, especially an artist or philosopher.” I can already call myself a professional, I have mastered the aerosol technique, and refined the form, and can clearly see what topics I tend to work on. The submitted painting Epigone (aerosol on canvas, 230×180) reflects my past cycles and stages in my search for myself as a young painter. However even in this piece, I wasn’t able to avoid mistakes – I forgot to tone my ribs, as such, my body got a tad bigger than it really is; to some people, my face may seem like a stencil, but this is my decision. The very construction of the idea of the painting here would mark my four stages so far in the YPP, with raised hands as if I surrendered, as if crucified, perhaps even like the Vitruvian man and with my hands down, unyielding, but calm, reconciled: “that’s just the way I am”. I got rid of unnecessary details, I left only the essence. With this picture, I think I am marking another stage of my past, which reflects past hesitations, thoughts, wanderings, mistakes, achievements, skills, and experiences. The accompanying paintings complement and comment on the works and concepts which I presented in 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021.

So who is this young painter? It is my deep conviction that a young painter is an ever-changing personality, washed over by various influences, and bombarded with information, which is absorbed not only through his or her work but also through one’s lifestyle. A young painter is characterized by a heightened sense of the time, and with that comes sensitivity to the environment, which can often cause discontent with the present. A young painter must be self-critical and receptive, not compromising, constantly putting oneself in obnoxious situations, as well as showing interest in other artists. A young painter must have an authority even if ashamed to admit it. A young painter must participate in exhibitions and competitions, respect the craft, and be honest with oneself. A young painter can be both an old and a new painter, but should never sleep (“cause sleep is the cousin of death”). A young painter should be constantly working, not relaxing, but also learning to rest. A young painter must have a hobby! A young painter must have own opinions and be able to stand up for them, but must remain tolerant. Finally, the Young Painter must be. I hope I am still a young painter, I hope to become an artist.

(9/33)