Petr Hajdyla is a notable name in the emerging generation of Czech painters. Vibrant and robust colour palette dominates his work, with a focus on figurative compositions. Using rich oil colours and dynamic brushstrokes, he captures fleeting moments. The compositions draw upon his personal repertoire of symbols and metaphorical frameworks, creating ambiguous situations that initially appear detached from reality. Still, they gradually reveal intricate narratives where reality blends with imagination, the subconscious, memories and fantasies.

Wonderful scent of burning ego, Hajdyla‘s first solo exhibition in Prague in three years, presents a series of works where he contemplates his own authenticity, inner transformations, and the journey of distancing himself from external pressures and expectations. With effortless candour, he delivers a generational testament that resonates with many. The oil paintings of varying formats evoke the warmth of scorching summer days, the carelessness of the very existence of naked figures, and the emotional depth of transformation. The elements of fire contribute to the sweltering atmosphere, symbolizing warmth or way of food preparation, as well as destruction and purification. The figures appear to transition between states of being, balancing between the realms of dream and reality, passion and resignation, memory and presence. Significant part of Hajdyla‘s current paintings focus on the theme of car tracks, that represent the journey of decision-making and the infinite cycle of life. The tracks are fluid in character, reflecting the impermanence of existence, the passage of time, and the process of aging.

Petr Hajdyla (1985, Moravská Ostrava) graduated from University of Ostrava in the Studio of Painting I lead by Prof. Daniel Balabán. He was the winner of the Pilsner Urquell Art Competition (2017) and the Rudolf Schlatauerr Prize (2016) and received first place in the Best NFT Competition (2022). He has completed residencies at the Orange Project Gallery in the Philippines (2024) and the Gallery of Marko K. Gregović in Montenegro (2015). His works have been presented in solo exhibitions at venues such as the House of Arts in Opava, the Sokolská 26 Exhibition Hall, and Artefin Gallery, as well as in group exhibitions in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and the Philippines.

(Curator: Michal Stolárik)