Roman Franta is one of the most prominent figures of Czech contemporary painting. In 1990–1997 he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in the studios of Professors Bedřich Dlouhý and Aleš Veselý and then continued to San Francisco Art Institute (1993–1994). Since the late 90s he has worked as an associate professor at the Academy of Fine Arts and now passes on his experience to the Art & Design Institute.
Franta attracted during his studies with his range of paintings in which beetles were teeming - a motive that became an unmistakable feature of his work. At that time, an interesting series was created, in which the beetle as a building unit represents the structure, symbol and game - and later turns into portraits of friends or famous personalities. In other periods, his paintings have turned into a spontaneously expressive collage, where animal fragments meet with political symbols (eg the White House, Wall Street), in funny and ironic glosses on world events.
Roman Franta exhibited Czech and internationally, for his work he won the Nomination for the Jindřich Chalupecký Award (1997), the SBC Award for Painting in London (1995) or the award at the Florentine Biennale (2001). His works are represented in important collections - in the National Gallery in Prague, Alšov South Bohemian Gallery, Museum of Art in Olomouc, Gask Kutná Hora, Klatovy/Klenová Gallery, Kubus Municipal Gallery in Hannover and foreign institutions such as Swiss Bank Collection in London.
