Stanislav Kolíbal prepared his retrospective for the biennale

Prague - After almost half a century during which the communist regime prohibited Stanislav Kolíbal from exporting his works abroad after the exhibition in Milan, the significant Czech sculptor and artist will represent the Czech Republic at the Venice Biennale. The oldest international exhibition of contemporary art will take place in the park in Venice from May 11 to November 24. Czech Republic and Slovakia alternate in preparing the exhibition in a shared pavilion built by then-Czechoslovakia in 1925.

Kolíbal was born in the same year, and the jury selected him to represent contemporary Czech art from 23 applicants. He is preparing an exhibition titled Former Uncertain Presences, which will showcase his older works as well as contemporary pieces. Kolíbal will create a new work specifically for the biennale, which will connect to the architecture of the pavilion built by Otakar Novotný.

"My participation in this biennale is actually a hint of a small retrospective. Since the oldest exhibit is from 1963, and two exhibits were created last year. I chose 1963 as the starting point because that was when I began to work on architectural tasks with geometry as a result of collaboration," Kolíbal told reporters today. The curator of the project is Austrian art historian Dieter Bogner.

Kolíbal is a representative of conceptual art, a significant figure in Czech art of recent decades, and celebrated his 93rd birthday in December. Art historians refer to his works as emotional geometry; this artist moved from figurative sculpture through the study of natural forms to a minimalist language of geometry and abstraction.

According to the jury, Kolíbal's life and work reflect the theme of this year's biennale, which is the ancient Chinese curse May you live in interesting times, referring to times of turmoil and uncertainty. Time is one of the fundamental elements of Kolíbal's work, and different eras have brought different perspectives on the perception of creation in his life.

The Venice Biennale attracts more than half a million international visitors each year. It was first held in 1885. After the division of Czechoslovakia, both successor countries manage the shared pavilion, alternating in organization. However, there has not been significant investment in the pavilion for a long time, and its condition is not ideal, according to the National Gallery in Prague (NGP), noting that it can be very hot in summer. "I still miss a stronger interest that would be manifested by more significant support from state authorities," said NGP director Jiří Fajt.

"Together with colleagues from the Ministry of Culture, we are working on it; I hope that we succeed, and we will strive to bring the pavilion to a state that meets today's demands," he added. A major reconstruction is not planned, as the pavilion has historical value, but improvements such as air conditioning should be made. Fajt added that the adjustment of the pavilion and its surroundings should take place in cooperation with architects Pavla Melková and Miroslav Cikán.