Rafael Smet grew up in a family where art was an important part of life. His mother, an art teacher at the Nymburk Elementary Art School in the Czech Republic, and his grandfather, a passionate violinist, gave him inspiration and support to develop his creative talent.
Curator Ivona Raimanová says about his work: "Perfect painting technique, realistic depiction, imagination and fiction represent key anchoring points of Smet's works. These main aspects distance the author's creation from the previous generation of painters. The factually austere conceptional approach gives way to fantasy narration. Abstract conception or an abstracting handwriting transform into a detailed examination of reality."
She continues: "Brushstrokes roughly sketched as if hurried become in Smet's paintings consciously constructed spatial forms. Controversial socially engaged themes were omitted, and the focus becomes an introspective inquiry into the alternative life of the author's ego."
ArtDependence (AD): How does your work reflect your view of the world right now ?
Rafael Smet (RF): I guess the emptiness in my work reflects the current social mood. There is too much information and most of it isn't positive. This can make people stressed or depressed. I try to create a calm world where anything is possible - a space where the viewer's mind can wander a bit and forget about everyday problems.
Rafael Smet, Covebist, 2025
AD: What role do you think art plays in connecting people today ?
RS: It depends, from my experience as a painter I am always very happy when people visit my exhibitions and look at the paintings wondering what they could mean or how they were made. Exhibitions and especially openings often serve as a catalyst for new connections between people who might otherwise never meet. from this perspective, I see art as very positive and important.
AD: Can you tell us a bit about your paintings ?
RS: My works are a combination of reality and imagination. Organic and inoranic things are real, but placed in such a perspective that they create mystical landscapes. In a way, they are partly a still life. I've had contact with these materials for many years and often thought what could be done with them. The paintings are the result of studying their shapes and structures for years.
There is a story in my work and at the same time there isn't. It is maybe more the story that viewers create or imagine. Some se a dystopian, post-apocalyptic landscape, others see the opposite, a utopian unknown planet. It can be a mystery as well: What is this world ? How was it created ? What are those organic and inorganic things ?
AD: What message or feeling do you hope viewers take away from your art ?
RS: I hope my work creates emotions - any emotion is meaningful to me. The most important thing I can hope for is if my work stirs any kind of feeling.
AD: What inspired you to take part in the Art to Collect project?
RS: I liked the selection of other artists and said to myself, why not? Part of my family is from Belgium, and for a while I wanted to try showing my work in a country other then the Czech Republic. This felt like a great opportunity to do so.
Main Image: Rafael Smet, Konnurmel, 2025