Štěpán Molín↓

About the work

What should people know about your work?

In terms of form, my diploma work is a loose continuation of my previous monochromatic compositions and the series of urban landscapes I painted over the last few years. I have additionally extended my focus of interest from nocturnal vistas, which have at times bordered on the picturesque, to include interiors. While constructing compositions, I continue to imitate tonal value with the aid of shades of grey; pallid colour sometimes flashes through. My primary aim is not to depict anxious states of mind and inner darkness, or to express distress and hopelessness. For me, musty soil and a shadowy, damp courtyard with various imprints of human existence form part of a kind of pictorial chronicle; one I am able to look into and observe by being present. In some cases, I have tried to express the poetry of these places, or rather the record it leaves behind, through a marked reduction of the form of the scene as it is in reality.

How do you see yourself and your work five years from now?

Five years from now… According to one statistical study from 2015, the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague is a leader in terms of the numbers of its graduates without employment, achieving a figure of 37.5 percent. I would not like to become part of this statistic at the age of forty-four, instead I’d like to be able to continue to devote myself fully to painting. On a wish list for the next five years, this would be my main priority. I’m not so sure about whether I’ll be leading a standardised family life in the next few years. In my artistic practice, I would like to attain a greater balance between meticulousness in terms of detail, generosity of expression and painterly shortcuts. While executing several of the paintings for my diploma work, I was able to make do with a reduced composition. I’m therefore curious as to what direction my art output will take over the next five years.