Stanislav Kolíbal
Silence after the Fall
Artist
Stanislav Kolíbal
(1925, Orlová), Czech
Original Title
Silence after the Fall
Date1975
Mediumwood, iron, threads
Dimensions226 × 209 × 30 cm
Classificationsinstallations
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.
Silence After the Fall (1975) is among the essential works of Kolíbal’s normalization period (1973–1988), when he was crafting ephemeral installations in the intimate seclusion of his own studio. The conceptual blueprint for these objects were the so-called White Drawings, produced during his creative stay in Vence, France. Consequently, Kolíbal primarily understood these new installations as a translation of drawings into space. The spatial dimension of this work is bolstered by the interaction of delicate strings with a partially suspended wooden metal-coated bar as well as of the right-angled lines, softened by their waved, loosely hanging ends, with the heavier materiality of the protruding bar. The ephemeral composition presents a sophisticated and meticulously assembled whole in which Kolíbal undertook a new project of visualizing the relation between stability and lability. The use of found objects and the narrational, metaphorical title of the piece, establish a deeper connection to Kolíbal’s personal life and the hostile times of restrictive normalization censorship and existential instability.
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.
Silence After the Fall (1975) is among the essential works of Kolíbal’s normalization period (1973–1988), when he was crafting ephemeral installations in the intimate seclusion of his own studio. The conceptual blueprint for these objects were the so-called White Drawings, produced during his creative stay in Vence, France. Consequently, Kolíbal primarily understood these new installations as a translation of drawings into space. The spatial dimension of this work is bolstered by the interaction of delicate strings with a partially suspended wooden metal-coated bar as well as of the right-angled lines, softened by their waved, loosely hanging ends, with the heavier materiality of the protruding bar. The ephemeral composition presents a sophisticated and meticulously assembled whole in which Kolíbal undertook a new project of visualizing the relation between stability and lability. The use of found objects and the narrational, metaphorical title of the piece, establish a deeper connection to Kolíbal’s personal life and the hostile times of restrictive normalization censorship and existential instability.
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.
