Sabina Knetlová

Sabina Knetlová (*1996) born in Jaroměř, lives and works in Ostrava, where she also graduated from the Sculpture Studio at the Faculty of Arts. Her works have been seen in places such as the Giudecca Art District in Venice, Vienna at the Vienna Contemporary fair, and the Czech Center in Brussels.

Her sculptural art work is formally defined by working with concrete and supplied material. In this approach, she creates a consistent body of work, within which the themes relate to personal views of her surroundings and her grasp of them. Knetlová adheres to a classic artisanal process. She models sculptures from clay and then adds concrete to subsequent plaster molds. As a material, it represents a constant variable that offers ample possibilities and processing variability. Stylistically, certain connotations and inspirations can already be discerned in ancient sculpture, such as that of the Etruscans and Egyptians.

While employing traditional sculpting techniques, she deviates from mere representation and leans more towards stylized principles aimed at capturing the internal context of the subject. Knetlová plays with the contrast between the solid forms of concrete, where she leaves the surface raw, and the flexibility of rubber hoses or the austerity of prefabricated building blocks. This combination of forms generates an internal dynamism within the artwork. Additionally, the contrast between sculptural shaping and industrially manufactured components serves as a focal point, highlighting the connection between human presence as gesture and human presence within mass industrial production.

Even ordinary things take on a different complexion, logic, sensitivity and meaning. Sabina Knetlová can perceive such shifts in everyday life, but she can also capture, tie together, and interpret them almost figuratively. It is not by chance that she is perhaps the most outstanding Czech sculptor of the youngest generation at the moment. Her work references different directions, often situated in a strange visual intersection of archetypal idols, Moorean tradition and Japanese anime. In a sense, they also bear the hallmarks of indigenous brutalism that corresponds to the society of mass production and draws on the intricate and powerful forces of gritty poetry. Likewise, it fulfills the requirement of a memorable image or a clear expression of the material.