From 19th July to 6th September you can see a new exhibition of Petr Kavan in Galerie Kuzebauch called A Brief Visit.

Runner, 2004

Petr Kavan (born 1949) was initially oriented towards carving having acquired considerable skills from fellow Czech sculptor Pavel Kostrhun. In 1996, Kavan departed for India, discovering the magic of black granite. This material would completely transform the Czech artist’s approach to his work. His wooden, black granite and copper statues offer a space for a clash between Western thought and Eastern mysticism.

The artist’s black granite statues represent a notable forward-step in terms of his expressive aesthetic. The works’ more abstract and clear lines serve to draw the viewer into a world in perpetual motion

Sisyphus,2000

The central motif of Kavan’s works can be characterised as an encounter with one’s own corporeal nature, and an awareness of one’s own mortality. Works such as Sisyphus, bring viewers into direct contact with the inevitability of human fate. Kavan’s statues offer a similar opportunity to come face-to-face with the futility of one’s own existence. They underscore the fact that life is but a brief visit; borrowed time that one day we will have to return. Kavan incorporates a kind of existential essence to his works, serving as a confrontation with one’s own mortality, and offering a degree of relief to the viewer, stemming from the wider wisdom contained therein.