Texte

The creative arch of the sculptor’s work development comprises a full range of processes from traditional sculpture, to “objects trouvé”, dada objects, to minimal art, towards the formulations of the object in contemporary contexts. What appears to be a purely technological index of sculptural principles includes, in fact, a natural development of the perception of the richness and diversity of our world, particularly its sculptural elements, and the gradual opening up of perspective, a multiplication of sources, impulses and information.

The formal signs of Sulek’s sculptural work represent its’ content and express the inner meanings that the author presents in his work. The development of the inner meanings of his sculptural creations cannot be separated from the palette of processes, motifs and themes of his oeuvre. For our own orientation, we may try to describe separately the individual sources of the overall flow of his work; however, this is impossible as these merge like a river into a single flow. Creating meanderings from this creative path, some even turn against the current, but rather than returning to their starting point, they spiral outwards, always reaching one level higher in terms of meaning and form. Sulek’s sculptural work originates in figurativeness, an understanding of the human figure, and from an essential immersion into its unique forms. This is also the source of the “primeval women”, primeval forms of female figures reminiscent of primeval Venuses (the Venus from Hradek, the Moravian Venus, the Willendorf Venus or the V?stonice Venus), similar to the expressive concepts and possible functions of amulets described by Dominik Tatarka, when speaking about the group of artists around Mikulás Galanda (P. Tóth and V. Kompánek).

The figural sculptures soon start showing a geometric tendency, the way in which the author perceives the shape indicates his awareness of the factors of civilization. These bring an exploration of the relationship between form and its function to his work. This exploration is threefold. First, recontextualization of a found (shape) object-form from its original context into a new situation in which it works as a new shape. Second, a focus on ergonomic elements in a sculptural body, utilizing the mechanics of industrial effectiveness, and, finally, an expressive reduction and refinement of the form in relation to function, the movement potential and material of the sculptural object. Two defining characteristics of the sculptor’s work need to be mentioned in this essay. In the process of creative transformation, the sculptor has a great ability to (fully) realize the metaphoric potential of sculptural form and thus achieve a significant scope of meaning in his work. Throughout all his creative work, the sculptor has a high regard for his material, the craft itself, and the actual physical execution of the concept.

It appears that the intuition involved in the selection of materials and the craftsmanship are dominant in Sulek’s creative work. Choosing the material and deciding its’ specific artistic treatment intensifies the demiurgic process of his artistic creation. Sulek’s creative work, spanning from humorous to meditative, is informed by a variety of themes; in his work, he is able to unleash his imagination and in a convincing way realize the possibilities provided by the creative processes. His creative efforts currently culminate in the metaphoric content of his work.

Prof. Ludovít Holoska
Academy of Fine Arts Bratislava

Prof. Milan Lehmden