Jakub Matuška aka Masker

Jakub Matuška aka Masker has gained a special position on the Czech art scene with his unmistakable illustrative handwriting, his demonic imagination and his affinity for comic book shortcuts. 'How should one be?' is the existential question that radiates within the nucleus of Jakub Matuška’s seemingly psychedelic paintings. The Czech-born artist's studies began at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Similarly to many of his predecessors, Matuška studied the traditional teachings of the Old Masters as a foundation for his artistic career. Throughout the course of his studies, Matuška drew inspiration from the abstract visions of Spanish painter Joan Miró, the early-Surrealist works of Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, and the fantastical triptychs of Dutch painter Hiermonyous Bosch. Building off their artistry, Matuška has etched his own artistic personality. In a vortex of neon pigments and amorphous figures, the classical teachings of the Old Masters and the euphoric images of contemporary media have coalesced in Matuška’s work. The scrutinization of the psychospiritual plane alongside the convergence of reality and imagination are palpable across Matuška’s oeuvre. His pieces recurrently feature the dissociative profiles of nebulous figures drifting through the scenes of a melting reality. Though Matuška crafts an otherworldly experience for the viewer, his exploration of urban life and the perplexing uncertainties of existence remain grounded in our contemporary world.