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Although Kurt Gebauer is mainly known for his work in public space and sculpture, the exhibition in Pilsen presents mainly his drawings and paintings. For Kurt Gebauer, water is a subject he has been dealing with for a long time. Swimming in the open air, in the pool, in the sauna and moving by the water gives space to see a person more natural and free than in everyday life. Kurt Gebauer is a swimmer, an activist for the preservation of beautiful places and, above all, an observer for whom being by the water offers a plethora of possibilities to see man free from earthly attraction. In the Gallery of the European House of the SVK PK, sculptures float as if they were in the water, paintings of floating figures hang on the walls, accompanied by drawings from the hot sauna, which contrast with the freezing cold of winter.
Kurt Gebauer brings a breath of warmth to the Czech winter, playfulness and humour at the sight of female and male bodies and the hope that summer will come again.

Kurt Gebauer was born in 1941 in Hradec nad Moravicí. From childhood he enjoyed drawing, painting and sculpture. He began to study ceramics and painting at the Brno School of Ceramics and then moved on to the Hořice School of Stone and Sculpture. He started to work as a stonemason on Prague monuments. He graduated from the Academy of Arts in the sculpture studio of Professor Vincenc Makovský and then under Karel Lidický. He completed several internships abroad, in 1965 in Stuttgart and in 1972 in Paris. He has worked as a freelance sculptor since 1969. In 1990 he was selected to head the sculpture studio at the Academy of Arts and Crafts in Prague. Kurt Gebauer has been a supervisor and teacher at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen for several years and also teaches at Charles University in Prague. In 2021 he was named Artist of the Year by the Czech Academy of Visual Arts and in 2022 he was awarded an honorary doctorate. He was appointed at the suggestion of the Dean of the Faculty of Education (FPE) of the UWB Pavel Mentlík for his outstanding contribution in the field of cultural education and care for public space, significant active cooperation with the UWB and the development of the Department of Art Education and Culture of the FPE.

Photo: Jan Mašek, Věra Uhl Skřivanová