Květa Kovářová – In Search of the Figure’s Form

The sculptor Květa Kovářová (1925–1966) belonged to a generation that began their studies during the war, and whose entry into the art world took place under conditions of unfreedom. She graduated from the studio of Josef Wagner, which produced an unusually strong circle of female sculptors. While many of them made significant breakthroughs sooner or later, Kovářová did not receive comparable attention. This was despite her proximity to the contemporary art scene and new opportunities for group exhibitions – her husband, the painter Ladislav Karoušek, and her brother-in-law, the sculptor Valerian Karoušek, were both co-founders and members of the M 57 (Makarská) creative group.

The exhibition In Search of the Figure’s Form traces the journey of her independent work, from student pieces through intimate figural sculptures of the 1950s to abstract shapes and commissions for architecture in the 1960s. Her sculptural works were always accompanied by preparatory drawings, in which she tested the form, compositional solutions, and how the sculpture would stand in space. Kovářová worked primarily with plaster, but she also did not hesitate to experiment with new synthetic materials: modurit and laminate, which opened the way for her to monumental scale. In laminate, she created the almost five-meter-long relief Seated Girl Nudes (1961–1962) for the boardroom of the foreign trade company Jablonex in Jablonec nad Nisou, which represents her most significant preserved architectural realization.

Although she could only dedicate herself to sculptural work alongside her employment in applied arts and restoration, a comprehensive collection of independent works and artistic concepts has been preserved. Kovářová focused on the human figure, primarily depicted in everyday situations. She quickly overcame the initial conventions of socialist realism and, in line with modern sculptural trends, discovered the post-war concept of the figure. Throughout the 1960s, she gradually transcended the framework of the figure towards an abstract sign.

In 1966, her creative surge was prematurely concluded. She tragically died while working on her largest sculpture for public space – an outdoor sculpture for the new hospital in Veľký Krtíš, Slovakia. Kovářová never lived to see a solo exhibition.

Sixty years after Květa Kovářová’s death, Museum Kampa presents her work and life story, which opens up the broader topic of “forgotten” female artists of the second half of the 20th century, authors whose work has not yet been adequately processed or presented. The exhibition also features the very first publication about this sculptor, which places her work in the context of post-war Czechoslovak sculpture and also hints at the contemporary conditions under which a female sculptor could fully dedicate herself to her work and even make a living from it.

Curator: Eliška Nováková

Production: Rozalie Pánková

Graphic design: Jožka Gabriel

Photography: Anna Pleslová

Exhibition architecture: Viktorie Pánková