Comunite Fresca is a group of three artists, graduates of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Brno University of Technology. Its members are Dana Balážová (*1989), Markéta Filipová (*1990) and Marie Štindlová (*1990).

The group revives the technique of fresco, known already in antiquity, and shifts it — both formally and in content — into the sphere of contemporary art. An important aspect of their work is presenting their pieces in public space or in other places outside the conventional gallery environment. For the aesthetic fusion of their individual handwritings, as well as for the themes of their work, the artists draw on a range of inspirations — be it traditional symbolism, nature, modernist simplicity, or the morphology of city walls, tags and forms of painting across the centuries. Besides public spaces and private interiors, the group has also shown its work in independent Czech galleries and institutions.

(Source: Jindřich Chalupecký Society)

The way we work stems from the fact that a fresco is an intervention into architecture for a particular client or, in a gallery, a viewer. As a group we create directly on site and in close communication with the people who inhabit the space.

A fresco is a painting into wet plaster. The whole process is therefore preceded by technical preparation, which includes consulting the type of masonry base, the microclimatic conditions, possibly preparing scaffolding, removing non-functional parts of walls or old underpaintings, and so on. We sketch out the specific place and mood together in advance, but what is crucial for us is the very time spent sketching on site. We can carefully observe the light conditions, the special situations of the place, and also the ideas and expectations of the people who live in the space we paint into.

We sketch together, discuss the motifs and crystallise the format and colour scheme before we set to the work itself. Once it is finished, several hours must be allowed for the plaster to dry. This time varies greatly depending on whether it is an interior or exterior and in which season we paint. We work almost exclusively with natural colour pigments, which we mix ourselves.