Jan Merta: 70% Artist, 30% Tram Driver

The exhibition is an intimate retrospective of the work by Jan Merta, including paintings, works on paper, objects, and an installation, from the end of the 1980s to his latest creations. The artist’s works draw inspiration from his personal experience and thoughts about the mission of art and the surprising nature of life. 

The exhibition pays a homage to Merta, one of the greatest painters ever lived, together with Sýkora, Boštík, Grygar, and Malich, in the opinion of the gallerist Zdeněk Sklenář. He chose the term “tram driver” for the title of the exhibition, thinking about someone far removed from the galleries’ world. 

Besides the exhibition, Galerie Zdeněk Sklenář is publishing a new book as a part of its special edition series: “Jan Merta: 70% Artist, 30% Tram Driver”. The publication consists of a series of interviews about the mission of art by Merta’s wife Lenka Mertová to the sociologist, lawyer, and art lover Jiří Přibáň; the curator Martin Dostál; the gallerist Zdeněk Sklenář; the art collectors Romana and Jiří Jelínek; and Merta’s friends, Jaroslav Král and Jiří Pánek. The book also includes the answers given by Jan Merta and Lenka Mertová to the same questions, selected photographs, and reproductions of some of the works on view.