Almost a century-old Kolíbal exhibited his Vertical Structure in Prague

photo: Jaroslav Brabec, GHMP

Prague – The ninety-nine-year-old sculptor, painter, scenographer, and educator Stanislav Kolíbal today inaugurated a temporary installation of his work Vertical Structure at Mariánské náměstí in Prague. As a tribute to Kolíbal's upcoming 100th birthday on December 11, the installation was arranged by the Gallery of the Capital City of Prague. The visual work will remain in the Prague square until September 13, as stated during today's vernissage in the open air by Kolíbal, gallery director Magdalena Juříková, and Deputy Mayor of Prague Jiří Pospíšil.

The work was created to celebrate Kolíbal's contribution to visual culture; the artist completed his concept from 1994 this year. The gallery described the Vertical Structure as a drawing in space and as architecture without an interior, relating to the surrounding palaces and facades of various styles. It is a wooden object in the shape of an unfinished cube with sides of about three meters, featuring transverse and longitudinal elements, as well as an emphasized diagonal side. The artist placed triangles in two corners of the geometric object.

Juříková called Kolíbal one of the most significant artists of our time. "The object will become part of the very center of our metropolis for several weeks, so that we can remember the artist who continues to work with unflagging intellectual freshness and further develops his inspirational work," she stated.

According to her, Kolíbal decided on the white version of the installation almost at the last minute; he originally considered using a lilac color. The white presumably corresponds with the theme of the exhibition of Kolíbal's watercolors at the Prague Nová síň.

Over the summer, a permanent dignified location for the Vertical Structure will be sought, as Kolíbal donated the object to the gallery. "He promised that when we move it to a new location, we can repaint it. I look forward to the lilac-colored sculpture," said Juříková.

Kolíbal’s work oscillates between sculpture, spatial drawing, and architecture, influencing both domestic and foreign creators. Since the 1960s, the artist has been engaged in a geometric interpretation. Although his work may seem rational, it reveals contradictions and existential questions.

Various other events are planned for the artist's upcoming jubilee. For example, Museum Kampa has included Kolíbal's works in the permanent exhibition alongside the paintings of František Kupka, and they will be together at least until spring next year. The National Gallery in Prague organized an exhibition of his works for the Venice Biennale in 2020 to commemorate Kolíbal's 95th birthday. At that time, it noted that in 1925, when Kolíbal was born on December 11, the functionalist Veletržní palace was just beginning to be built.

Among Kolíbal's most well-known realizations in public space are the sculpturally designed supporting walls of the Nuselský Bridge in Prague, the relief wall of the Czechoslovak Embassy in London, the Memorial to the Victims of Fascism in Prague from 1969, and the monument to the first broadcast in Prague-Kbely. In an interview for the new issue of the gallery magazine Qartal, Kolíbal said that he has been developing and exploring the themes of lability and stability for many years.

The Stanislav Kolíbal Foundation lists the presence of his works in 15 world art collections, including London's Tate Gallery, New York's Metropolitan Museum, and Paris's Centre Pompidou.