Marius Kotrba

The intention of the exhibition of Marius Kotrba is to present the lifetime sculptural and painting work of this important personality of Czech art culture at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, with the aim of comprehensively capturing his extraordinary artistic legacy. Works from all areas of the artist's oeuvre will be selected for the retrospective exhibition, with an emphasis on their connections. From the early period, the central theme of Kotrbas' work remained the human being; he was inspired by actual stimuli based on everyday life, personal experiences, and civil themes symbolizing interpersonal relationships. In his work he focused on spiritual values influencing human existence. In his work, one can observe the development of expressive means and morphology, the tendency towards a lapidary simplification of forms, without losing the subject matter. Tension and emotional charge are inherent in all areas of his work - sculptures, reliefs, paintings and drawings. By concentrating on the essential and focusing on intensity, Kotrba achieved general validity and timeless values in his works. The exhibition will highlight the main aspects of his lifelong artistic direction not only within the Czech cultural scene, but also in the context of the development of European art since the 1980s. This approach will be made possible by the collaboration with the experienced Viennese curator Berthold Ecker. For the first time, a new perspective on Kotrba's work will be provided, not only in the context of Czech art culture. The project will make public the circumstances that led to the creation of the sculpture Justice, which stands in front of the Administrative Court in Brno, as well as a number of sculptures for the city centre that were only considered but not realised. The exhibition will be accompanied by the publication of a monograph, which the House of Art is preparing in collaboration with the Ostrava House of Art and the Prague City Gallery.