Olbram Zoubek

Olbram Zoubek is one of the most distinctive Czech Figural sculptors of the second half of the 20th century. He lived alternately in Prague, where he had his studio, and in Litomyšl. His sculptures can be found in many public spaces, including his Pomník obětem komunismu (Memorial to the Victims of Communism, 2002) in Petřín, Prague.

After studying at grammar school in Žižkov, Prague, he attended Josef Wagner's studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague between 1945 and 1952 where he became acquainted with the restoration of Renaissance sgraffito and stone relief work. He consequently took on restoration work alongside his freelance work up to 1994.

His artwork developed during the period of Czech New Figuration and in it we can see certain parallels to the Existential conception of the statues by the Swiss sculptor Albert Giacometti. However, the principle inspiration for his work is the art of Ancient Greece, primarily the “Kouros” and “Kore” types. The main theme of his work is the human being and the human body. Elongated figures of men and women represent the generally accepted symbols of human existence, relationships, belief, and freedom. Olbram Zoubek was a member of the art groups Trasa, Nová Skupina and Nová Beseda. He received many awards during his lifetime, including the Medal of Merit, presented to him by the Czech president in 1996.

Zoubek's stance as a citizen and as an artist prior to 1989 clashed with that of the official politics of the Communist Party – in 1969 he had taken a cast of the death mask of Jan Palach and in 1970 had designed tombstones for Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc, both of which however, were only completed in 1990. He consequently spent the so-called “Normalization” years, with their lack of freedom, in Litomyšl. He first worked there from 1962 to 1963 when he restored the stone facade of the House of the Knights. He returned in 1974 when he was commissioned to restore the facade of the Renaissance chateau. He compiled a team which included Václav Boštík, Stanislav Podhrázký, Zdeněk Palc and, for shorter periods, other artists. Zoubek was the only member officially authorized to carry out restoration work independently and thus, became the main work coordinator, working in the chateau grounds until 1993, Litomyšl thus becoming his second home alongside Prague. In 1987, he was present at the birth of the regular exhibitions Výtvarná Litomyšl (Creative Litomyšl), taking place every year in the House of the Knights, in which he participated regularly. A permanent exhibition of almost one hundred of his sculptures was opened in the chateau cellar in 1998, and many of his sculptures can be seen in Litomyšl's public spaces.

1977
Muse
Litomyšl cemetery – tombstone of the painter Josef Matička

1986
Iphigenia
Town Gallery Litomyšl

1989
Atonement
Litomyšl cemetery – Scattering garden.

1990
Relief work for the grave of František Ambrož Stříteský
Litomyšl cemetery

Memorial to Jan Palach
Faculty of Philosophy building, Charles University
Jan Palach Square 2, Prague

2002
Memorial to Victims of Communism
Petřín, Prague