The Kvalitář Gallery introduces a unique solo exhibition by artist and amateur astronomer Adam Kašpar (born 1993), a complex presentation of his explorations of outer space. You will see sketches, watercolours, and fifteen finalised large canvases that represent the culmination of his long and intellectually demanding study – from the deep cosmos, millions of light years away, to the planets of the Solar System and the Sun itself.
“During my expeditions to the Jeseníky Mountains, I capture the view through my Newton’s telescope first as a sketch on paper, which I then develop into a more detailed drawing. Then I continue with a small oil painting on either paper or canvas. Only then do I move to larger canvases. It is crucial to show the spectator the entire process and not only the final painting,” Adam Kašpar explains.
Curator Jan Dotřel adds: “With Adam Kašpar, the two crucial elements are the time spent observing the sky and the vast knowledge needed to undertake this activity. That is why his artworks are so authentic, a quality that I, as a curator, value the most – it offers us a pure capacity to see things directly.”
Kašpar gradually trained and cultivated his capacity for observing nature. After graduation from Professor Martin Mainer’s Painting IV studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, he first explored realistic paintings of the animal kingdom, alive here and now. He then began using palaeontology to examine nature that is dead, imprinted in fossils. An even older layer of history is represented by crystals, depictions of which were included in two group shows at the Kvalitář Gallery: Geometria Naturalis and Aetas Praehistorica, marked by a synthesis of art and science. The study of space, then, is the next logical step. Kašpar’s approach, however, is not purely documentational. He explores nature as a phenomenon indelibly connected to humanity and society and their mutual – often destructive – relationship. The artist also draws significant inspiration from 19th century and Renaissance landscape painting.
The guided tour of the Bright Stellar Core exhibition will take place on September 12 from 7 pm. in the Kvalitář gallery.