Zbyněk Sekal
Untitled
Artist
Zbyněk Sekal
(1923, Praha - 1998, Wien), Czech
Original Title
Untitled
Date1989
Mediumrelief, wood
Dimensions44,2 × 74,3 × 2,1 cm
Classificationssculpture
Credit LineKunsthalle Praha
DescriptionZbyněk Sekal was a prominent Czech sculptor who emigrated to Vienna, where he spent the later part of his life. Although his art draws on the traditions of surrealism, art informel, and so-called total realism, he remained a solitary artist throughout his entire life, placing importance on an integration of order and magic. A defining experience of Sekal’s youth was his imprisonment in the Terezín and Mauthausen concentration camps, which became heavily manifest in his life-long feelings of difference, uprootedness, and inability to socially integrate. His individualistic work also stems from his highly intellectual orientation, combining influences of existentialist literature (e.g., Franz Kafka) and philosophy (e.g., Martin Heidegger). Sekal’s work is divided into extensive series and is defined by a non-linear evolution and a need for self-reflection, with Sekal understanding his artworks as a part of himself. The human figure and the feeling of physical presence are thus contained, at a metaphysical level, even in his non-figurative work. Traces of physical presence are manifest in his emphasis on craftsmanship, materiality, and the incorporation of used utility items which retain certain imaginative qualities without detracting from the focus on constructing an abstract order. The idea of recycling existing items creates space for tensions between beauty and rawness as well as imbuing materially fragile and minute forms with an expressive monumentality. In the early phases of his career, Sekal produced sculptures of quail heads, which can be interpreted as a direct imprint of his experiences in concentration camps. From 1957 to 1964, he focused on the existential themes of the dwelling and the den, precarious structures which can be read as a certain form of personal, existential self-interpretation. Later, Sekal’s practice shifted toward collage and assemblage. In the 1960s, he primarily created tangles of wires which formed dense meshy structures expressing the concept of chaos, as well as composed reliefs, known as suspended assemblages, made of found discarded materials. Placing great importance on the creative process itself, from the 1970s onward—following his emigration to Vienna—Sekal reworked some of his older pieces created in Prague. In the 1980s, he produced wooden cases which represent one of the pinnacles of his oeuvre. Toward the end of his artistic career, he was strongly influenced by a short stay in Japan in 1989, where he was greatly inspired by the substantial cultural difference and philosophical context of Zen Buddhism. The most salient works resulting from this journey are minute collages made of ephemeral materials.
Sekal began creating composed reliefs in 1963. They embody his effort to fuse raw reality with intangible imagination. Sekal produced them using existing objects rearranged into a new reality shaped by his attention to detail and precision. These pieces combine personal trauma with order and structure, as well as with the use of discarded materials, a popular approach at the time. Sekal made them using fragments of wood, wire, and metal components, with emphasis placed on the homogeneity of the materials and their particular haptic and optic qualities. The materials contain traces of previously existing items and convey an interest in the associative dimensions of found objects. During the 1980s, Sekal returned to creating composed reliefs from wood, which convey an extraordinary sensitivity for material and an internal need for order. This piece from 1989 is made up of vertically arranged laths forming a geometric structure, the orderliness of which is disrupted by the haptic qualities and materiality of the wood and its traces of material wear.
Zbyněk Sekal (1923, Prague – 1998, Vienna) was part of the so-called Spořilov Surrealists, centred around Karel Teige, already at the onset of World War II. After returning home from the Terezín and Mauthausen concentration camps in 1945, he re-established contact with the group. From 1945 to 1950, Sekal studied at the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague, but left without completing his degree. He was heavily influenced by a month-long study trip to Paris in 1947, which was centered around the international exhibition of surrealism in the Maeght Gallery (reprised in Prague later that year) as well as visiting ethnographic collections. Between 1957 and 1964, he exhibited with the art group Máj, although his relations with the group were not harmonious. During the 1960s, Sekal had several solo exhibitions of his current work (Charles Square Gallery, Prague, 1961; Václav Špála Gallery, Prague, 1965; House of the Lords of Kunštát, Brno, 1965; Václav Špála Gallery, Praha, 1969). He also partook in the legendary exhibition D at the Nová Síň gallery in Prague in 1964, which primarily focused on contemporary tendencies in art informel. In 1966, Sekal’s work was included in the prestigious West Berlin exhibition Tschechoslowakische Kunst der Gegenwart. He also worked on designing the Czechoslovak pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal. In 1969, following much consideration, he decided to emigrate, starting a new life in Vienna. He had already previously been in contact with the Austrian scene, and although he remained a solitary artist his work was shown in several solo exhibitions at prominent institutions (Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna, 1977; Neue Galerie, Graz, 1977; Kunstmuseum Bochum, 1977; Rupertinum, Salzburg, 1991; Belvedere Museum, Vienna, 2020); Sekal’s work was also included in numerous group exhibitions in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Japan. In 1984, he was awarded the City of Vienna Prize. In 1997, shortly before his death, the Prague City Gallery held an extensive retrospective exhibition of his work. His most recent retrospective took place at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna in 2020. Sekal’s work is currently held in institutions such as the Kunstmuseum Bochum, the Rupertinum Salzburg, the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, and the National Gallery Prague.
Sekal began creating composed reliefs in 1963. They embody his effort to fuse raw reality with intangible imagination. Sekal produced them using existing objects rearranged into a new reality shaped by his attention to detail and precision. These pieces combine personal trauma with order and structure, as well as with the use of discarded materials, a popular approach at the time. Sekal made them using fragments of wood, wire, and metal components, with emphasis placed on the homogeneity of the materials and their particular haptic and optic qualities. The materials contain traces of previously existing items and convey an interest in the associative dimensions of found objects. During the 1980s, Sekal returned to creating composed reliefs from wood, which convey an extraordinary sensitivity for material and an internal need for order. This piece from 1989 is made up of vertically arranged laths forming a geometric structure, the orderliness of which is disrupted by the haptic qualities and materiality of the wood and its traces of material wear.
Zbyněk Sekal (1923, Prague – 1998, Vienna) was part of the so-called Spořilov Surrealists, centred around Karel Teige, already at the onset of World War II. After returning home from the Terezín and Mauthausen concentration camps in 1945, he re-established contact with the group. From 1945 to 1950, Sekal studied at the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague, but left without completing his degree. He was heavily influenced by a month-long study trip to Paris in 1947, which was centered around the international exhibition of surrealism in the Maeght Gallery (reprised in Prague later that year) as well as visiting ethnographic collections. Between 1957 and 1964, he exhibited with the art group Máj, although his relations with the group were not harmonious. During the 1960s, Sekal had several solo exhibitions of his current work (Charles Square Gallery, Prague, 1961; Václav Špála Gallery, Prague, 1965; House of the Lords of Kunštát, Brno, 1965; Václav Špála Gallery, Praha, 1969). He also partook in the legendary exhibition D at the Nová Síň gallery in Prague in 1964, which primarily focused on contemporary tendencies in art informel. In 1966, Sekal’s work was included in the prestigious West Berlin exhibition Tschechoslowakische Kunst der Gegenwart. He also worked on designing the Czechoslovak pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal. In 1969, following much consideration, he decided to emigrate, starting a new life in Vienna. He had already previously been in contact with the Austrian scene, and although he remained a solitary artist his work was shown in several solo exhibitions at prominent institutions (Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna, 1977; Neue Galerie, Graz, 1977; Kunstmuseum Bochum, 1977; Rupertinum, Salzburg, 1991; Belvedere Museum, Vienna, 2020); Sekal’s work was also included in numerous group exhibitions in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Japan. In 1984, he was awarded the City of Vienna Prize. In 1997, shortly before his death, the Prague City Gallery held an extensive retrospective exhibition of his work. His most recent retrospective took place at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna in 2020. Sekal’s work is currently held in institutions such as the Kunstmuseum Bochum, the Rupertinum Salzburg, the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, and the National Gallery Prague.
