Petr Pastrňák was born in Frýdek-Místek, in 1962. He graduated from the Prague Academy (AVU Prague, 1990-1996) after the Velvet Revolution, and trained in the ateliers of Milan Knížák (1990-1992), Michal Bielický (1992–1994) and Jiří David (1994–1996). Though a relative latecomer to art, his passion and patience were all the greater for it. During this period, the artist-to-be sought to learn everything he could: design, welding, video art – all while certain that he would ultimately try to live off painting.
Thematically, landscapes, specifically forest landscapes, served as inspiration for Pastrňák and sparked continued curiosity. As a teenager, the artist remembers looking at paintings by famous 19th-century Czech landscape artists such as Mařák and Čordák. Later in life, as a dare of sorts, he challenged himself to copy a forest interior by Mařák. And although his painting clearly exhibits abstract tendencies and has passed through more pragmatic phases – such as when he produced ready-made series of educational slides for schools in the 1970s – , focusing too on self-portraits, portraiture and representations of cultural symbolism, Pastrňák eventually returned to the forest through brush and canvas. Forests, as the artist asserts, allow for a transition from abstraction to figuration, and vice versa with relative ease, while broaching spiritual and mythological aesthetics.
This last subject matter goes hand in hand with a recent methodological shift, where continuous works and inspiration have been streamlined and concentrated into highly focused activity. This gradual evolution accompanied a contextual change, when a few years ago Pastrňák began travelling to India to work. This renewed approach, influenced by Zen philosophy, is one of transience, in which he creates through himself or through the means of meditation. It is in these areas that his current interests lie. The act of painting is one of week-long cycles, concluded in a climactic, spontaneous, joyful and almost subconscious effort. To reach this state, all parameters are laid out at the outset: colours and tools are visualised (through meditative naps) and then produced with very little conscious thought. The result, the painted image, is valued as a trace, a constant that will remain.
Pastrňák’s solo exhibitions in the 21st century include: Hořící lesy, Galerie Václava Špály, Prague (2011); Obrazy a krajiny, Oblastní Galerie Vysočiny, Jihlava (2009); Z ateliéru, Prinz Prager Gallery, Prague (2008); Obrazy, Galerie Ad Astra, Prague (2008); Petr Pastrňák Obrazy, Galerie Senzor, Prague (2007); Ve větru, Galerie Felixe Jeneweina, Kutná Hora (2007); Obrazy 1996-2006, Městská Galerie, Blansko (2007); Obrazy malované válečkem, VOXART, Prague (2006); Lesy a krajiny, Galerie Beseda, Ostrava (2006); Krajiny, Galerie České pojišťovny, Prague (2006); Lesy, Galerie Kavárny Louvre, Prague (2005); Galerie ARS, Brno (2004); Galerie Chobot, Vienna (2003); Galerie Na Bidýlku, Brno (2003); společně s J. Špaňhelem, Credite Anstalt, Prague (2001); společně s J. Špaňhelem, MXM, Prague (2001); Městská Galerie, Šternberk (2000); Galerie Malá Špálovka, Prague(2000); Galerie MXM, Prague (2000).
Pastrňák lives and works between Prague and India.
