Alternate decription

Johana Merta

mertajohana@seznam.cz

01.09.1987

Brno, Czechoslovakia

Skuteč, Czechia

+420 777 055 325

Artist's statement

I have long been interested in the relationship between culture and nature, the value systems derived from this relationship, and their interconnectedness in the construction of collective and personal identity. In my work with materials and objects, I explore the relationship between comparisons and general real questions of individual/societal existence. I am concerned with the tension between the fragility of existence and the power of belief. I perceive the unstable yet enduring social concepts that surround us (class divisions in society, gender inequality, disparagement of minorities, exploitation of disadvantaged groups, etc.) as a legacy. These intangible cultural products are also closely linked to the visible boundaries and limits of our existencial heritage of quilty in the landscape. Our stewardship manifests itself in all aspects. Through material metaphors in installations, I try to narrate diverse models of situations—possibilities that we as humanity generally have. I create works, installations, and situations that serve as a communication tool, not as a means of communication. My work tends to tell stories, but also to let objects tell their own stories through their purpose, origin, aesthetics, and degree of damage or potential. Questions of equality, freedom, indifference, meaning, courage, naivety, and pain are posed for reevaluation. They are not presented as unsolvable problems, but as space for the careful handling of trauma. It only depends on who we are willing to become at a given moment and through what lens we perceive what is happening. My goal is to maintain creative freedom. My desire is to "work," and I do not consider this modest.

Bio

JOHANA MERTA / *1987 born in Czechoslovakia, Brno I am East European woman artist. I studied exhibition, performance, intermedia, drawing and printmaking in Brno. After graduating I moved to the countryside with my family. Now i live in Skuteč in the Pardubice Region and I am mum of three. I work in various forms and systematically use experiment for searching a new ways. Member Hugo & Zoe / band / singer / formation 2007 Grau kllktv / non-profit organization for cultural development / founded 2011 Ateliér Banja Luka / society of artists / foundation 2010

CV

Education

  • 2003 - 2008 High school of art and design / SŠUŘ Brno / department of expozitions
  • 2008 Faculty of Fine Arts BUT / Performance
  • 2009 - 2012 Faculty of Fine Arts BUT / Intermedia
  • 2012 - 2017 Faculty of Fine Arts BUT / Drawing and Printmaking

Awards/Residency

  • 2021 / OFFSPACE AiR / Pardubice / CZ
  • 2022 / Muzeum of mining / Banská Štiavnica / SK

Exhibition / Project List

  • 2025 / Sklízíme kameny, občas bláto / SAM83 / Česká Bříza / CZ
  • 2025 / TENDER SHIELDS / Galerie města Blanska / CZ
  • 2025 / OVER ALL POSSIBILITIES 2 / Dům Umění města Brna / CZ
  • 2024 / OVER ALL POSSIBILITIES / DZYGA gallery / LVIV / UA
  • 2023 / Blouděním k sobě / Gočárova galerie / Pardubice / CZ
  • 2022 / Povrchová těžba / Galeria Jozefa Kollára / Báňská Štiavnica / SK