From the Press Release of the exhibition:
Although Martin Jonas, Serbia’s leading naïve artist, passed away in 1996, he left the world a priceless “inheritance” — a prodigious, half-century’s output of captivating paintings that are an ode to the farmer, a love-song to the earth.
Jonas’ artworks provide us with an “insider’s” view of the Serbian village, its people, and, above all, its farmers. His insightful depictions delve deeply into the psyche and character of the common folk, portraying them with a mixture of love and reproach, fascination and scepticism, humor and irreverence.
Although Jonas’ figures are distinguished by disproportionately small heads and oversized limbs, clearly his head was very large, brimming with imagination, inspiration and introspection, and his hands were those of a master surgeon, deftly and precisely uncovering life’s details and travails.
…The artist’s widow, Zuzana Jonas, greeted me very warmly upon my first trip to Kovacica in 2003. Although quite ill at the time, she provided me with an extensive tour of her home and an insightful explanation of her husband’s works. Two years later, when I broached with the artist’s son, Martin, the possibility of this retrospective exhibition, he readily embraced the idea, and subsequently devoted many days gathering the 90 paintings comprising the retrospective and explaining to me the background of each artwork. My heartfelt thanks to both Mrs. Jonas and Martin for their warmth, understanding and wise counsel.
