Petr Beneš

Born in 1958 in Brno. Petr Beneš is a self-taught painter. He has been painting since 1983 and exhibiting since 1993. A number of his paintings have found their way to private collectors from England, France, Germany, Austria and Slovakia.

I started painting from curiosity. I wanted to explore painting and also myself. Very gradually, I began to grasp different techniques and styles of painting and absorb the theory and history of art. I still enjoy it. With time, I learned that I can work more intuitively, without a clear idea, model, or detailed plan for a painting. However, it is not possible to be rational and intuitive at the same time. I needed to set regular thinking aside. I used "my discovery" made during my Zen practice: absolute focus can turn off both thinking and self-awareness and replace it with intense perception and experiencing. In that way, I can "step into" a painting, move inside it and then "step out". And, from the "stepped out" perspective certain shapes begin to make sense while others are more abstract. I got used to associating painting with mental exercise. Petr Beneš