ZDENA FIBICHOVÁ

“Men have never been true rulers of the nature. At best, they can leave a trace here. Sometimes deep, sometimes shallow, barely noticeable. ” This is how Vladimír Preclík characterized the distinctive feature of the work of Zdena Fibichová (1933–1991), which was the effort to leave an imprint, a mark, a sign. Zdena Fibichová was one of a number of female artists - sculptors who entered the scene in the 1960s and made a mark in an environment which until then had been predominantly male. Her work today represents one of the most important expressions by women in the art of the second half of the 20th century.
The beginnings of Zdena Fibichová's work are mainly connected with the study of human figure and its physicality. She was interested in figural sculpture already as Josef Wagner‘s student at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. She used the fullness of the shapes of the human body to experiment with mass. She arrived at a marked stylization of human limbs, creating the impression of cult idols, used to pay tribute to the mass of the human body. Organic morphology and strong bonding with nature is also evident in the years that followed. Thriving, swelling, spilling of liquids became the subject of a series of subtle sculptures. Apart from often ethereal statues creating the impression that they are shaped by nature itself, Fibichová also devoted herself to monumental objects and reliefs. They are characterized by rationality, intervention in the mass of the shape of massive material, such as concrete. In this way, sculptures become records of individual interventions. They act as signs and are a way of communicating with the outside world.
            In addition to working on sculptural objects, Zdena Fibichová also devoted herself to drawing. As she remarked, "Drawing is a natural need for me, a separate discipline and creation as such." Her ink drawings are, rather than preparatory works for sculptural realizations, original works of art which, in their form, are close to gestic painting.
The exhibition at the Václav Chad Gallery was organized with the intention of presenting the artist's work from a private collection in the Zlín cultural environment after more than twenty years.
 
Kateřina Ottmarová