Early Life, Family and Training
Born in Bratislava, Slovakia, in 1979, Jozef Srna ml. grew up within a family defined by painting. He is the son of the painter Jozef Srna st., a man whose own creative style was noted for its distinctive and sometimes constricted qualities. This familial connection placed the younger Srna within a specific lineage of visual expression from his earliest years.
His formal training began at the Škola úžitkového výtvarníctva Josefa Vydru in Bratislava, where he studied from 1994 to 1998. During this time, he worked within the department of restoration and conservation of wooden monuments under the guidance of prof. Michal Staudt. This period of study focused on the technicalities of preserving the past, a discipline that requires a steady hand and a close attention to the physical properties of historical materials.
From 1998 to 2004, Jozef Srna ml. continued his education at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, working in prof. Rudolf Sikora’s Open Studio. His academic path also took him to the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where he spent the period from 2000 to 2001 studying under doc. Antonín Strížka. These years of study across two cities provided the foundation for his development as a painter and graphic artist.
Technique and Artistic Style
His practice is centered almost exclusively on oil on canvas. He approaches the canvas through a deliberate process of preparation, relying on drawing, photographing, and careful studying before the first layer of paint is applied. This methodical groundwork allows him to re-interpret the natural world in his own language, particularly in his landscapes, which are deeply rooted in his observations of nature.
There is a tension in his work between the old and the new. He often attempts to duplicate the techniques of the old masters, yet he infuses these compositions with the gestures, expressions, and anarchy of the contemporary world. This creates a friction where the subject matter—often depicting the unrest or the people on the margins of society—meets a technical approach that feels pulled from a different era. He uses his technique to isolate the painting from its specific period, regardless of whether he is working with a landscape, a figure, or a portrait.
The way he handles light and color is central to his output. He seeks to capture the atmosphere of everyday life, often focusing on the tension and the quiet, unobserved moments of human existence. His work does not rely on nostalgia; instead, it uses traditional tools to record a reality that is often characterized by social or moral dislocation.
Key Works and Exhibitions
His canvases often capture specific moments of tension or quietude. In 2005, he produced Pier, a work that follows the principles of genre painting. Later, in 2018, he created Vo svetle. His interest in the way light interacts with a subject is evident in his 2012 exhibition In a New Light at GMB in Bratislava. This focus on light and its dramatic effects was also a central theme during his 2007 participation in the Light and Drama exhibition at PGU, Žilina.
The artist has frequently presented his work in various galleries across Slovakia. In 2014, his exhibition Jozef Srna: Kolobeh príbehov was held at Galéria Jána Koniarka in Trnava. His piece Aby bolo viac svetla was featured in an exhibition at the Soga auction house, where the works reflected on the changing social landscape and the passage of time.
