Born in 1960 Education 1982-1987 Academy of Fine Arts in Prague Michal Gabriel ranks among the most extraordinary sculptors of the generation at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s (the Tvrdohlaví Group). His primarily mimetic sculptures made of diverse materials are related to classical sculpture while employing a postmodern language of allusions, play and persiflage. He has attracted attention already in the 1980s during Confrontations, the then followed unofficial exhibitions. Dealing with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic themes, his works are focused on man and existential questions, always posed with a slightly ironic distance. The works by Michal Gabriel often employ myths and archetypes, frequently depicting various mythic creatures and animals of symbolic interpretations. They range from monumental objects to almost miniature artifacts capturing simple things (garden vegetables) as well as abstract mysterious objects. Gabriel’s sculptures often incorporate extraneous objects taken from reality such as nutshells, butterfly wings and children’s toys. His sturdy signature style as well as his courage to employ the realist mode make him into a unique sculptor of today. Currently he is president of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Brno. Web: http://www.michal-gabriel.cz/