Stanislav Kolíbal
Untitled
Artist
Stanislav Kolíbal
(1925, Orlová), Czech
Original Title
Untitled
From the seriesBerlin Cycle
Date13.7.1989
Mediumblack pencil on paper
Dimensions86 × 61 cm
Classificationsdrawings
Credit LineKunsthalle Praha
DescriptionStanislav Kolíbal has been among the most important figures of both the Czech and international art scene since the 1960s. His practice is primarily focused on sculpture and installation, which he creates with immense sensitivity for the surrounding space. The delicate, rounded shapes of the abstracted, stylized women’s bodies which he produced during the 1950s were conceived as a reaction to dogmatic socialist realism. After 1963, Kolíbal limited his expressive devices to simple geometric shapes; in contrast to Western minimalism, they are permeated by personal, existential experiences of life in an unfree society. A recurring motif of his work is the question of (in) stability. The delicate expression of his sculptures is often underlined by their material—white plaster—which Kolíbal likes for its malleability and minimalist aesthetic. Since the late 1960s, he has also been drawing, initially using colored pencils and watercolors before later limiting his palette to black. In the 1970s, he extensively explored the possibilities of structure and time, using diverse, often found materials (e.g., wood, metal) which he connected to the surrounding space using strings, thus giving the appearance of a spatial drawing. In 1985, he began working on relief objects, known as Geometric Exercises, in which he replaced chaos and fragility with structure and order, a shift also reflected in his use of wood and later metal. Since the turn of the millennium, he has focused on examining his previous themes and approaches.
Kolíbal understands drawing as a medium which allows him to shift the meaning of his work, or even fundamentally change it, by expressing his thought process and systematic development of a given topic. The extensive series Berlin Drawings was created between 1988 and 1989, during Kolíbal’s year-long stay in Berlin. In this vast, concentrated project, he explored various ways of working with geometry, searching for order, harmony, and connections. Each drawing started by mechanically dividing the paper into two halves. Set distances then defined the radiuses of circles and the sides of squares. The subsequent drawing process resulted in a certain constellation in which Kolíbal aimed to find unexpected harmonies and balances. While the drawings represent an autonomous work with its own artistic value, they also became the basis for Kolíbal’s three-dimensional wooden structures.
Toward the end of World War II, Stanislav Kolíbal (*1925, Orlová) was forced to work as a miner in Ostrava. In 1945, he began studying at the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague, and later studied scenography at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague from 1951 to 1954. In the 1960s, he was part of the art group UB12, which brought together artists focused on the spiritual dimension of their work; the group was banned in 1970 due to its political incompatibility with the communist normalization. Despite being at odds with the communist regime, Kolíbal managed to secure opportunities to study abroad, specifically the Kaloy Foundation scholarship (Vence, France, 1968) and the DAAD scholarship (Berlin, 1988-19989). He also received the Ford Foundation scholarship in 1969 but was not allowed to travel to the USA due to political reasons. In 1992, he attended a residency program at the Atelier Calder in Saché, France. From 1990 to 1993, he was head of the Sculpture Studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Kolíbal’s work had already caught the eye of Western curators before the fall of the Iron Curtain, and in 1967 it was included in the exhibition Sculpture from Twenty Nations at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. In 2000, German art historian Zdenek Felix organized an exhibition of Kolíbal’s work in the Deichtorhallen Hamburg. In the Czech Republic, he has had extensive retrospective exhibitions at the National Gallery (1997) and the Prague Castle Riding School (2012). He has also worked on several architectural projects in the Czech Republic and abroad. In 2005, he was awarded the Czech Medal of Merit for Culture and Arts. In 2019, Kolíbal represented the Czech Republic at the 58th Venice Biennale with his project Former, Uncertain, Indicated (2019). Beyond the Czech Republic, his works are also included in the collections of institutions such as the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Modern in London, the Mumok and the Albertina in Vienna, and the Metropolitan Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Kolíbal understands drawing as a medium which allows him to shift the meaning of his work, or even fundamentally change it, by expressing his thought process and systematic development of a given topic. The extensive series Berlin Drawings was created between 1988 and 1989, during Kolíbal’s year-long stay in Berlin. In this vast, concentrated project, he explored various ways of working with geometry, searching for order, harmony, and connections. Each drawing started by mechanically dividing the paper into two halves. Set distances then defined the radiuses of circles and the sides of squares. The subsequent drawing process resulted in a certain constellation in which Kolíbal aimed to find unexpected harmonies and balances. While the drawings represent an autonomous work with its own artistic value, they also became the basis for Kolíbal’s three-dimensional wooden structures.
Toward the end of World War II, Stanislav Kolíbal (*1925, Orlová) was forced to work as a miner in Ostrava. In 1945, he began studying at the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague, and later studied scenography at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague from 1951 to 1954. In the 1960s, he was part of the art group UB12, which brought together artists focused on the spiritual dimension of their work; the group was banned in 1970 due to its political incompatibility with the communist normalization. Despite being at odds with the communist regime, Kolíbal managed to secure opportunities to study abroad, specifically the Kaloy Foundation scholarship (Vence, France, 1968) and the DAAD scholarship (Berlin, 1988-19989). He also received the Ford Foundation scholarship in 1969 but was not allowed to travel to the USA due to political reasons. In 1992, he attended a residency program at the Atelier Calder in Saché, France. From 1990 to 1993, he was head of the Sculpture Studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Kolíbal’s work had already caught the eye of Western curators before the fall of the Iron Curtain, and in 1967 it was included in the exhibition Sculpture from Twenty Nations at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. In 2000, German art historian Zdenek Felix organized an exhibition of Kolíbal’s work in the Deichtorhallen Hamburg. In the Czech Republic, he has had extensive retrospective exhibitions at the National Gallery (1997) and the Prague Castle Riding School (2012). He has also worked on several architectural projects in the Czech Republic and abroad. In 2005, he was awarded the Czech Medal of Merit for Culture and Arts. In 2019, Kolíbal represented the Czech Republic at the 58th Venice Biennale with his project Former, Uncertain, Indicated (2019). Beyond the Czech Republic, his works are also included in the collections of institutions such as the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Modern in London, the Mumok and the Albertina in Vienna, and the Metropolitan Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
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