Jiri Vales was born on April 10, 1957 in the Czech town of Mlada Boleslav during the reign of terror of the Communist regime. At an early age he discovered the beauty and comfort of painting. One of his childhood teachers discovered his gift and attempted to help with his artistic development. However, the majority of his teachers were against developing his talent and Vales was imposed a different destiny by the State. He was determined not to give in to the whims of the State and continued to study art and paintings when not working at his dictated profession. Positive changes in the political climate in Czechoslovakia made it possible for Vales to more actively pursue his artistic dreams. From 1977 to 1990 he was able to enroll in a secondary school of art and take private art lessons given by academic artists teaching at the Prague Art Academy. Today Vales is a full-time artist happily pursuing his aesthetic dreams. Vales' artistic visions began with painting landscapes, then to figurative art. As he explored the figure he discovered that regularity permeated the core of the human psyche. His search for the essence of this regularity ultimately developed his spiritual self and led him to the understanding that light was the regulating force of both internal and external reality. For him, light has three special properties that make it possible for it to regulate reality--it defines, penetrates, and reveals. Vales' paintings are about the regulating and defining powers of light, which is why he paints nocturnal streets illuminated by lanterns that define an area, cut through the darkness, and reveal the surrounding space. Vales does not participate in competitions. He does exhibit his work and his paintings can be found in American, Austrian, Dutch, French, German, Polish, Swedish and Swiss private collections. |
