The Shark by the Kasper Company and Sculptor Gabriel
Seven meters long, weighing six tons, and definitely extraordinary. Such is the shark, or rather its stainless steel sculpture, which was created at the company KASPER KOVO. It was created by sculptor Michal Gabriel. In collaboration with him, a model was created using 3D technologies, based on which the sculpture itself was made. The shark won the main prize at the NordArt sculpture symposium in Germany and is now being exhibited at various gallery events.
The monumental shark sculpture is made of stainless steel material that the company KASPER KOVO has at its disposal. Laser-cut 2,200 ten-millimeter stainless steel strips are joined according to the design, thus creating the shape of a sea creature. Thanks to the automation of some production processes, the employees at KASPER KOVO worked on it for about two weeks. Creating the actual design using the SolidWorks 3D program took much longer. Watch the video, which captures the entire creation process.
Stainless steel horse sculpture
After the success achieved by the monumental stainless-steel sculpture Shark at the prestigious NordArt sculpture festival, we once again collaborated with sculptor Michael Gabriel. In the KASPER KOVO workshops, a brand-new work was being created at the turn of winter and spring 2019. The two-and-a-half-ton horse sculpture, made of stainless-steel slats, is intended for an exhibition in Karlovy Vary. The horse, in slightly larger-than-life size, will adorn the public space of the spa town.
The creation of such a sculpture involves many hours of the artist's preparation as well as the diligent work of skilled craftsmen. How does the production process work, what precedes it, and what does the collaboration between Michael Gabriel and us as the manufacturing company look like? The video report answers that, which you can watch here.
Steel Rider
As a materialized hologram, amid a cheerful play of light and shadow reflected in stainless steel, the statue of the rider may seem to appear. Thanks to the sculptor Michal Gabriel's long-standing interest in installing his works in public spaces, it is now placed in the open area between the fountain and the Old Town Hall on Krakonoš Square, right in the center of Trutnov. However, its monumental appearance was already revealed to the public in August 2020 during the Artu Kus festival at Bojiště.
It is interesting that this statue had already been created earlier in several smaller bronze versions. The sculptor's desire to see the rider in a much larger form was fulfilled only by the company KASPER KOVO. Their statue, made up of centimeter-sized stainless-steel segments, is three meters high and weighs over two and a half tons.
MAJESTIC LION
The steel lion, made to order for the owner from Čeladná, is almost two meters tall, two and a half meters long, and weighs over a ton and a half. At first, it was exhibited in front of Trutnov’s UFFO cultural center as part of a temporary exhibition, where it attracted the attention of all passersby and aroused deep admiration.
The company KASPER KOVO therefore did not hesitate and, based on sculptor Michal Gabriel’s design, made its twin, which differs only by the engraved number 2 on the lion’s leg. In November 2019, this replica was placed on Slovanské Square in front of the city gallery. Residents of Trutnov can thus continue to admire one of the most popular sculptures in modern history and observe its breathtaking transformation throughout the four seasons.
Equestrian statue of Charles IV.
The equestrian statue of a giant of Czech history was also created according to the design by sculptor Michal Gabriel. It is exceptional not only for its monumental size, but also for a unique optical illusion, when only from a certain viewing angle does the observer reveal the “floating” St. Wenceslas crown inserted into the statue's pedestal.
The model of this work won a competition organized in 2017 by the Karlovy Vary Rotary Club, which subsequently initiated a public collection, from which the creation of a full-scale statue was to be paid. The plan succeeded and the work, nearly 6 meters high and weighing 20 tons, was unveiled on 7 May 2022 in Theatre Square in Karlovy Vary.
