Jaroslav Róna

Jaroslav Róna (1957) studied glassmaking under Stanislav Libenský at Prague’s Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design. He is a founding member of the Tvrdohlaví art group and former head (2005–2012) of the sculpture studio at Prague’s Academy of Fine Arts. In his artistic practice, he devotes himself in equal measure to painting and to sculpture. Working with his signature style, he processes, reassesses, and updates themes that have been a part of his art since the 1980s. These include military and biblical motifs, the contrast of Western and non-European cultures, and the subject of death and decay. Where he previously created paintings full of dark and oppressive postapocalyptic worlds, he has recently moved towards colorfully rich compositions. As a result, he often produces a distinct contrast between serious themes and a surprisingly joyful color range. Róna’s sculptural work is characterized by a more abstract stylization of shapes, and his mythologizing style hints at a close relationship to ancient and prehistoric cultures. His studio sculptures and monumental objects for the public space predominantly consist of stylized human and animal figures that often hide a serious message or social critique, though always with a sense of humor and hyperbole. Jaroslav Róna is represented in leading Czech collections of art, including the National Gallery Prague, Prague City Gallery, the Museum of Decorative Arts, and the Moravian Gallery in Brno. He has shown his work both in the Czech Republic and abroad, for instance at the solo exhibition Jaroslav Róna 1997–2017 at Prague City Gallery’s Stone Bell House (2017), the Václav Špála Gallery (2013), and at Crossing Borders at the Glasmuseum Ebeltoft in Denmark (2008). The most distinctive presentations of his work nevertheless are primarily public sculptures.