Lot 204

Jiří Seifert (1932 - 1999) A RACK

The author of the sculpture, one of the most important Czech sculptors of the second half of the 20th century, studied at the UMPRUM under Prof. Bedřich Stefan (1952-58). In 1965 he won a prize at the Biennial of Youth in Paris and in 1968 he was included in the show of contemporary Czechoslovak sculpture. He was also selected for the Musée Rodin in Paris. One of the manifestations of Seifert's personal symbolism and intimacy is the new form of "still lifes" and "shelves", which have their antecedents in early Baroque paintings. The treatment of small objects in the context of the household is manifested by arranging them on dedicated shelves. The shelf, with its distinctive figurative elements imprinted in relief, figures here as a "dwelling" phase, which the artist manifests in other works not only in wood but also in stone. In addition to the metaphor of touch and general tactility in the exploration of the surface, an emphasis on the phenomenology of objects is demonstrated, along with a stream of associations that is partially evaded by the abstract representation of shapes. Seifert's work, particularly in the 1970s, is intended as part of a certain broader composition: small objects are destined for the shelf, the scale, the table, seasonal vegetables form a still life. So that their appearance consists in finding a balance between the demands of the material and the sculptor's will. The offered work is listed in the inventory of works under number 200.