Petr Malina was born in Prague in 1976. Passionate about the technical potential of his medium of choice, painting, he studied first at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague from 1994 to 1998. He then moved on to the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Kunste (Karlsruhe, Germany), where he studied until 2000, and then to Middlesex University, London, before eventually returning to his initial place of study in Prague in 2001.
Malina’s technical skill is used to counter-intuitive ends. Whereas one would expect an overabundance of details, the artist actually shows a lot of graphic restraint, focusing mainly on key structural elements: marked geometrising lines, areas, masses and edges. The subject captured through these elements is mainly the city, a theme as consistent as it is volatile and changing, allowing the artist to take and offer continuously shifting perspectives.
Malina is what could be described as a ‘professional observer’. With a cultivated disengagement, the artist captures urban moments, the emotional projection making up for the lack of details. With this delicate balance, Malina proposes a secret peek into the unseen moments of daily life and occurrences. As such, these urban scenes could be construed as self-portraits, as they teach one to see as much as they teach one about the person seeing.
Active on both the national and international circuits, Malina’s recent exhibitions include: Urban Structure, Petr Novotný Gallery, Prague (2020); Lost in the City, UFFO, Trutnov (2020); Ordinary paintings, Gallery in the Tower, Planá near Mariánské Lázně (2019); Crossroads, Vyšehrad Gallery, Prague (2019); Volatility of everyday life, Opero, Prague (2018); Back to the Gallery, Pavilon Gallery, Prague (2016); Urban Moments, Czech Center, Sofia, Bulgaria (2016); From Gallery to Gallery, Petr Novotný Gallery, Prague (2015); In the City, Exhibition Hall, Chrudim (2015); City Time, Gallery of Art Critics, Prague (2015); City Times, City Gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia (2013); Two Worlds, Ján Koniarek Gallery, Trnava, Slovakia (2013); City, Zlatá štika Gallery, Prague (2012); Story, Ad Astra Gallery, Kuřim (2011); City Walks, Gallery of Art Critics, Prague (2010); Dark Show, Česká pojišťovna Gallery, Prague (2010).
