Disfiguration PY31 Painting

Ondřej Rypáček: Artist Statement Ondřej Rypáček approaches painting as an act of transformation—a continuous interplay between control and intuition, structure and improvisation. His work is not about fixed meanings or predetermined outcomes but about navigating the unknown, embracing change, and allowing the process to shape the result. Each painting is a layered record of decisions, where nothing is truly erased, only covered, revealed, or reworked in an organic evolution. The process mirrors the rhythms of life, where nothing can be undone or retried; hence, nothing really matters. Life is what is here and now. Modern art starts with the realisation that a painting is a physical object. Rypáček uses natural linen and paint, often hand-made from pure pigment and cold-pressed linseed oil. The canvas is not primed, only sealed with natural hide glue. This reveals the beautiful irregular structure of linen canvas, as opposed to the much more machinistic regularity of cotton. The earth pigments come first, just as in the classical painting process. They give the paintings their depth and structure, sometimes seen as looming darkness behind everything. The darkness moves into the light with rich, bright, impasto brushstrokes. During painting, rather than removing or correcting, Rypáček obscures earlier layers, preserving their presence beneath the surface. The act of covering up is not about negation but about transformation—previous marks remain, influencing the final image even when unseen. At times, he wipes away sections, editing the top layer to let the past re-emerge. This creates a tension between presence and absence, between the present and the past, and between what is visible and what is hidden, much like the fleeting and layered nature of memory itself.  The painting is finished when there are no loose ends—when every element exists in balance, and the statement is complete. Yet, even in its final form, the work carries the traces of its becoming, embodying a philosophy of impermanence and transformation. Rypáček’s paintings imitate life. They are an invitation to engage with the fabric of life itself rather than chasing other people’s norms and dreams. Life is here and now with all its shallowness and depth, moments of peace and violence, triviality and incomprehensibility.