Erasmus, Polsko - Gdaňsk

And so the adventure begins...

In the photo above, you can see the completed sculpture Seated Boy.
The young man on the right is Kuba, our model.
I believe that when a person models another person, the final sculpture becomes a sum of both.

Below, you can see Eva's Portrait.
This is a warm-up task at the start of the semester, meant to be completed within a week.
Each student gets to experience both clay modeling and casting techniques.
First, we practice plaster casting. Then, it's up to each of us to decide what material we want to transform our clay into.

This winter semester, I embarked on an Erasmus stay at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk.
I spent most of these months modeling – quite literally.

As part of the sculpture program, we work on life-size human figures.
It's a profound experience, one I'd recommend to anyone who loves working with space and form.

Birthing

I perceive this birthing figure as a symbol of a lake reflecting the rising or setting sun.
The material is linden wood, whose softness I find deeply fitting for the symbolism
of a vessel carrying life.

A subtle polychromy enhances the elemental presence of water and fire —
energies I seek to express through these abstract morphologies.

This morphology emerged by translating patches of colour into space.
Through the technique of soaking colours through layers of paper to outline specific shapes,
new simplified and transferred forms were born.

One could say it all began with the enchantment of a seashell's form.
It was water, I believe, that helped me let go of concrete perception
and shift toward the poetic association of a birthing figure.

The colours, in turn, awakened reflections on the symbolism of what is being portrayed.

Composition on Three Points

This composition was created while listening to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven.
Specifically, it was inspired by his Moonlight Sonata — a piece he composed for one of his students, with whom he had fallen in love.

Another source of inspiration were tones expressed on a surface.
When sound is translated into form, it can give rise to ornamental blossoms or swirling shapes.

When you cut an apple in half, a tiny flower appears inside.
It is from this hidden blossom that the entire composition unfolds,
set into motion by its inner rhythm.

Material: Patinated plaster
Dimensions: 90 × 60 × 30 cm

Sculpture Symposium – Family

This composition of horse heads symbolizes family — a familial circle and connection.
The sculpture was realized in sandstone during a school symposium, made possible thanks to the support of Plzeňský Prazdroj.

Together with a team of fellow students, we carved the piece over the course of two weeks.

Material: Sandstone
Final dimensions: 90 × 60 × 160 cm

Angel

The sculpture Angel was created during a summer sculpture symposium in Šitboř.
The theme of the symposium was The Ploughman from Bohemia and Death.

After reading the story, I chose the motif of the Ploughman's dead wife — the girl, the woman he lost.
The inspiration for this free-form relief composition was the song Veličenstvo kat by Karel Kryl.

In the song, there is a reference to the death's-head hawkmoth,
which evoked in me a sense of hope and fragility — the idea that love can transcend death.
Despite all our humanity, in which fear of death is deeply rooted, there remains hope in love.

Love is a current of life. It endures.
The Ploughman saw that hope in his wife. He compared her to an angel,
and struggled deeply with the loss of her presence.

I tried to carve a sleeping woman with wings, preparing for her journey — a pilgrimage to another world.
Her curves symbolize the path, and her wings the transformation.
Though she is dying, for the Ploughman she remains a symbol of life.
That is what I sought to express.

The sculpture is carved in sandstone and will be installed using a pin anchored in a concrete base, set into the ground.
Its dimensions are approximately 150 × 100 × 20 cm.

All sculptures from the symposium are placed along the path beside the church in Šitboř.

Swimmers

The Swimmers sculpture is a free composition on the theme of sport.
It is modeled in sculptural clay. At the moment, the piece is enclosed in a multi-part blind plaster mold,
which I am gradually chiseling away to reveal the final plaster model.

Dimensions: 110 × 67 × 49 cm

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Portrait Study of Laocoön

As part of the second-year sculpture program, we model a head study based on a plaster cast.
I chose the portrait model from the ancient sculpture of Laocoön.

Light

In this composition, I explore the element of light.
At first glance, it may resemble a monstrance — though that wasn't the direct inspiration.
I spent a lot of time researching light itself, and found it challenging to stop and shape such an elusive presence into material form.

In hindsight, I would perhaps call this sculpture a journey toward the light.

David

This head represents a portrait of my autistic friend, David.

David is a very kind and gentle person. We study sculpture at the same school and often help each other out.
He has a sensitive nature and a passion for creating.
We even collaborated on the Family sculpture carved in sandstone during a two-week symposium at Plzeňský Prazdroj.

I tried to capture his joyful smile — something truly characteristic of him.
I modeled David in motion, using sculptural clay.

The piece was then cast in plaster and mounted on a base carved from armaporite.
Because of its unstable center of gravity, I reinforced the head with a strong internal wire,
creating a pin that allows me to insert and remove the sculpture freely from a hole in the base.

This flexible solution makes the model easier to transport.

Dimensions: 39 × 22 × 29.5 cm