Rovina 1979

František Hudeček painted 'Rovina' with oils. I love this painting because the longer I look at it, the more it changes. The top third is a pale blue, almost cloudless sky, simple enough, but beneath that is a band of indigo, which resolves, upon closer inspection, into a mass of tiny, wriggling figures, or perhaps the debris of a shipwreck seen through dark, rippling water. In the lower portion of the painting, the figures become clearer, they are brilliantly coloured in red, yellow, green and turquoise, each outlined in dark ink. There is something meditative about the overall effect, and the longer you look, the more the colours shift and pop, like a mirage, as if the painting is continually remaking itself in front of your eyes. The layering creates a tactile quality, inviting you to imagine the sensation of running your fingers over its surface. Hudeček reminds me a little of Paul Klee, in his use of childlike forms and playful colour schemes. Art is a conversation across time, full of echoes and unexpected connections.