COMPLETED OFFERING: HYNEK MARTINEC

Hynek Martinec (b. 1980, Broumov, Czech Republic) is a London-based painter celebrated for his masterful fusion of classical technique and contemporary conceptual inquiry. Trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in the atelier of Zdeněk Beran, Martinec refined his approach to traditional painting before expanding his artistic language abroad. During his studies, he completed academic residencies at Middlesex University in London and The Cooper Union in New York, where he deepened his engagement with contemporary theory and gained an international perspective.

After graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in 2005, Martinec moved first to Paris and, in 2007, to London, where he has since lived and worked. In 2020, he received British citizenship, further solidifying his presence within the UK art scene.

Martinec first gained recognition in the early 2000s with his hyperrealist portraits and still life paintings, which demonstrated his exceptional technical mastery of oil painting. Drawing inspiration from Renaissance and Baroque masters such as Caravaggio and Velázquez, these works stand out for their meticulous craftsmanship and intellectual depth. Traditional portrait and still life genres are reimagined through the inclusion of contemporary objects and existential motifs such as extinguished candles, wax, skulls, and everyday 21st-century items, evoking the vanitas tradition. Many portraits are based on old photographs, blurring the line between past and present, while transforming intimate autobiography into universal symbols. With its technical virtuosity and layered symbolism, this body of work creates a powerful dialogue between the classical and the contemporary, positioning Martinec as a leading figure in today’s figurative painting.

His early international breakthrough came with multiple distinctions at the prestigious BP Portrait Award, a defining achievement that established his reputation on the global stage. In 2007, he received the BP Young Artist Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London, for Zuzana in Paris Studio (2006–2007), chosen from a pool of 1,870 submissions—a work that the museum later acquired in 2025. That same year, he was awarded the BP Visitors’ Choice, and in 2008, won both the BP Visitors’ Choice at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh and the Changing Faces Award in London. Earlier in his career, he had also been awarded the Studio Prize at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (2003).

Martinec has exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions across Europe. His works are held in major collections including the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery (London), the National Gallery (Prague), and the Moderna Museet (Stockholm), as well as other prominent public and private collections.

Selected Exhibitions: 

Upcoming for 2025 & 2026

An exhibition is scheduled in October 2026 at Varvara Roza Galleries, London, UK – Solo Show

“Symposium”, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, West Palm Beach, USA, (Dec 6, 2025 - Jan 17, 2026) – Group Show

“Art Basel Miami Beach”, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Miami, USA, (Dec 5-7, 2025) – Group Show

2025

“Cyberlemon”, DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague, Czech Republic – Solo Show

2024

“Vessel”, OHSH Projects, London, UK – Group Show

“Taste”, Wonzimer Gallery in collaboration with OHSH Projects, Los Angeles, USA – Group Show

“Bread”, OHSH Projects, London, UK – Group Show

“EduArt PopUp”, Pragovka Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic – Group Show

2023

“Thank You For Looking at Me”, OHSH Projects, London, UK – Solo Show

“Summer Exhibition”, Royal Academy of Arts, London – Group Show

2022

“Absurd”, OHSH Projects, London, UK – Group Show

“Still Life/Life Still”, OHSH Projects, London, UK – Group Show

2021

“Will and Representation”, Parafin Gallery, London, UK – Solo Show

“The Will to Power”, ASC Gallery, London, UK – Group Show

“Vanitas”, DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague, Czech Republic – Group Show

2020

“Complex States: Art in the Years of Brexit”, ARTinTRA, AR platform virtual exhibition – Group Show

“Reload II – The Same For Everyone, Summer Program ”, Parafin Gallery, London, UK – Group Show

“Inspiration - Iconic Works”, Ateneum Museum: Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki, Finland – Group Show

“Inspiration - Iconic Works”, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden – Group Show

2019

“In Living Memory”, Gallery at Emo Court House, County Laois, Ireland – Group Show

“Vanité”, The Brixton Beneficiary, London, UK – Group Show

“The Everyday Archive”, The Brixton Beneficiary, London, UK – Solo Show

2018

“Voyage to Iceland”, The National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic – Solo Show

2017

“The Birth Of Tragedies”, Parafin Gallery, London, UK – Solo Show

“Arc Of Memory”, Zahorian & Van Espen Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic – Group Show

2016

“Hybrid”, The Factory Gallery, London, UK – Solo Show

2015

“Intellectual Properties”, Václav Špála Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic – Solo Show

“Blow Up”, Parafin Gallery, London, UK – Group Show

2014

“Every Minute You Are Closer To Death”, Parafin Gallery, London, UK – Solo Show

2012

“Beyond Reality. British Painting Today”, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic – Group Show