Petr Foltera

"(b. 1975) graduated from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design (VŠUP) in Prague in 2001. He began his studies at the Film and TV Graphics Studio of Prof. Jiří Bárta and after one year he switched to the Painting Studio of Prof. Pavel Nešleha.


Foltera stretches the term new portraiture to different lengths in his recent series of paintings. Creating life-size mural mutations using known personalities from the music world such as Tricky or “DJ” as his models, decapitated floating heads emerge from psychedelic backdrops swirling with devilish florescent strokes. In others, armless individuals stare intently back at the viewer with a defiant air. These portraits are more akin to maniacal obsession than just album cover or fan poster reproduction. The faces Foltera fashions emit a loneliness; rage and dark humor linger there, along with the artist’s own ambivalent desire to become a “star.” Instead of portraying teenish worship, he dissects and manipulates his idols into fantastical characters that are strangely even more alluring in their inhuman form.
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01.05.2001