Every year, a new work of art takes its place at the open-air Šilingrák Gallery on Šilingrovo Náměstí. For the first time in three years, a new artist has been given the opportunity to showcase his art in the ‘gallery’. Photo credit: TMA / Brno Daily.
Brno, Jul 26 (BD) – Last year, a pack of cats was replaced with a new sharks statue, and now the time has come for the sharks to be replaced with a new statue from a new sculptor at “Galerie Šilingrák” on Šilingrovo Náměstí. The statues are all part of the international Sculpture Line festival, which originated in the Czech Republic.
The preceding three statues at “Galerie Šilingrák” were all groups of predatory animals by Michal Gabriel: first came a flock of predatory birds, followed by a pack of predatory cats, which were replaced last year with a school of sharks.
Now the gallery is displaying a work by a new artist: “Capsule” by Tomáš Medek. His work is completely cast in bronze, and was intentionally not coated with patina so that the true color of the bronze would stand out after processing.
The inspiration for “Capsule” came from one unnamed exotic fruit. “While studying [the fruit], I discovered that its seed is even more interesting in shape than the fruit itself, and when I saw a detailed image of its structure captured by an electron microscope, I decided to combine all three levels into one object dealt with by an organic structure,” explained the artist.
The production of “Capsule” took a year and a half, of which six months were spent on the bronze casting of the work, which had to be cut into smaller pieces and cast individually due to the internal space and the statue’s organic structure. Before casting, the piece was created using a 3D printer, which took almost a year.
“The Šilingrák Gallery has become a well-known exhibition site for the general public, and like every gallery, our exhibitions must change. I believe that “Capsule” by the Brno sculptor Tomáš Medek will once again attract people and become the motif of many photographs from Brno. I would like more public exhibitions and sculptures in the center of Brno,” said Vojtěch Mencl (ODS), Mayor of the Brno-Central district.
The capsule will be on display on Šilingrovo Náměstí until March next year, when it will be transported to Germany for the NordArt international exhibition in Büdelsdorf.
