Three Figures c. 1965

This work, Three Figures, was made by Jirí Balcar, using what looks like ink and gouache on paper. I can imagine Balcar’s hand moving quickly, tracing and retracing the outlines of these figures, smudging the dark ink of the central form. What was he thinking as he rendered this figure almost a void? Perhaps he sought to capture something fleeting, a sense of presence and absence combined. The quick, dark strokes of paint become a way of thinking, a language of feelings, caught between presence and absence. The composition also feels really interesting. It's like a stage or a room. Then, these three figures—are they characters, players, or maybe just thoughts passing through Balcar’s mind? I see the conversation between them and the conversation between Balcar and them. Paintings, like all art, remind us that creativity is a dialogue across time, a shared space of possibility. Each brushstroke, each decision, builds upon those that came before. It’s like Balcar is whispering to us, inviting us to listen to what we already know, deep down.