Rastislav Ekkert

Rasto was born in 1964, in Bratislava. Even as a child he felt happiest spendifng time in the nature. Carpathian forests surrounding Bratislava were his first domain and later, as a youngster, he fell for the magic of High Tatras. It was quite unlikely for a boy from flatlands to climb and spend a lot of time in Tatras, but Rasto loved it. Later came climbs in Caucasus, Alps and finally Himalaya.

He became a journalist and traveled the world. This involved reporting on wars and suffering, however also an experience of living with joyfull pure people, among which he felt the best. His personal top was a project called „Around the world in eighty days“, which was documented on a film and still cameras. He had several photographic exihibitions, one of them called CONFESSION took place in Gallery Fokus in Bratislava in 1990. He strated to draw and paint in his early childhood. He was part of a weekend class of Julius Koller.

However, during the busiest times of his life, there was a little time or peace for a systematic art work. But the time has changed. He moved to a house in wilderness of Muran Plateau with his partner Tinka. Artistic world of colour was finally allowed to resurface from within his depths. Shepherds, woodsmen, pure and true people from woods, this is his world and his inspiration.

He regards his art as raw, maybe even naive. However, it comes from experience of a real country and real people in it. Rasto records this experience and he believes that a peace of his heart and soul is left in all of his paintings.