Jiří Kačer (born 9 April 1952) is a Czech sculptor, restorer and academic teacher.
Life Jičí Kačer was born on 9 April 1952 in Prague. From 1967 to 1969, he attended the School of Arts and Crafts in Prague, specializing in stucco work, where he learned the basics of the craft and modeling. In the second half of the 1960s, he had the opportunity to learn about Czech modern art at exhibitions in Prague and to meet the creators of New Figuration.Ivan Neumann, 2006, pp. 5–6 In the period following the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, when Prague's exhibition halls were dominated by pro-regime normalization artists,Ivan Neumann, 2006, p. 20 he continued his studies at the Secondary School of Stonemasonry and Sculpture in Hořice (1970–1974) under Prof. R. Šrajbr.Jan Štíbr, in: Jan Brodský (ed.) 2017, p. 5 There he encountered high-quality sculptures from previous International sculpture symposia installed on Gothard Hill. He gained knowledge of working with sandstone and the basics of the procedures necessary for restoring sculptures, which he then used during his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.Petra Hoftichová, in: Jan Brodský (ed.) 2017, p. 52
In 1975, he was accepted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where in the mid-1970s, conditions were severely affected by normalization. After two years of studying sculpture (preparatory course with Karel Kolumek, sculpture studio of Jiří Bradáček)Ivan Neumann, 2006, p. 9 Jiří Kačer decided to transfer to the studio of stone sculpture restoration and sculpture reproduction under Prof. Antonín Nykl in 1977. This allowed him to escape the tedious modeling lessons for various anniversaries in the style of socialist realism.Magdalena Juříková, 1992 The stifling conditions at the school provided little incentive for free creativity, and it was important for students to interact outside of school and engage with the entire unofficial art scene, visiting studios and private exhibitions.
He completed his studies in 1981 with a diploma thesis - a copy of the statue of Mary Magdalene from the Calvary sculpture in Pohořelec.Petra Hoftichová, in: Jan Brodský (ed.) 2017, p. 53 From 1990 to 1994, he worked at the Academy of Fine Arts as an assistant to Prof. Jan Hendrych.Vratislav Nejedlý, in: Horová A (ed.), 2006, p. 347 He was a member of the Council of the Association of Restorers (1990–2020, in liquidation).Zbyšek Malý (ed.), Dictionary of Czech and Slovak Visual Artists, 2000, pp. 24–25
From 1981 to 1989, he organized summer sculpture meetings in the marlstone quarry in Přední KopaninaIvan Neumann, 2006, p. 11 and after 1990 he was instrumental in reviving International sculpture symposia in Hořice. As a curator, he organized an art symposium in Mikulov. Since 1992, he has been a regular participant in sculpture symposia at home and abroad. In 1987, 1989, and 1991, he participated in the Salon de Tokyo exhibitions,Zbyšek Malý (ed.), 2000, p. 25 and in 2010, he participated in the SmaltArt symposium in Ostrava-Vítkovice.Smalt Art Vítkovice 2010 Jiří Kačer created several copies of Baroque sculptures by important artists Antonín Braun, Ferdinand Maxmilián Brokoff), which replaced damaged originals, and restored other sculptures.Jan Štíbr, in: Jan Brodský (ed.) 2017, p. 6
Jiří Kačer lives and works in Prague and Hostivice. From 2004, he is a member of Umělecká beseda.
Work As a student at the stonemasonry school in Hořice, Jiří Kačer collaborated on sculptures by Jan Hendrych.Ivan Neumann, 2006, p. 10 The Hořice school also maintained a strong Wagnerian tradition in working with the natural shape of stone.Ivan Neumann, GMU Hradec Králové 2009, composite sheet Wagner graduated from the stonemasonry school in Hořice and, after studying with Jan Štursa and Otakar Španiel at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and Otto Gutfreund at the School of Applied Arts in Prague, he returned to Hořice. He was one of the leading restorers of stone sculptures by Matyáš Bernard Braun in Kuks.Ivan Neumann, Svědkové trvání, Prostor Zlín, 2003, p. 19 Jan Hendrych, who studied under Wagner, was in fact his only teacher and mentor and had a significant influence on Kačer at the beginning of his sculptural career.Ivan Neumann, 2006, p. 23
At the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, he initially focused on figurative art and sought inspiration in the works of representatives of modern European sculpture (Manzù, Marini, Greco), but also in unofficial exhibitions of former graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design. His early work was influenced by the 1973 exhibition of sculptures by Giacomo Manzù at the Belvedere in Prague and, for a time, also by the pop artist George Segal with his use of plaster casts of girls' bodies (Marcela, 1980–81).
After graduating, Kačer returned from plaster casts (Back, 1982, Imprint, 1982) to working in stone and organized sculpture meetings in Přední Kopanina marl quarry. His relief "imprints" in stone (Back, 1983, marlstone) were initially still figurative (Pieta, 1985, sandstone), but soon became abstract traces of human presence (Imprint, marlstone, 1985, sandstone, 1997).Ivan Neumann, Svědkové trvání, Prostor Zlín, 2003, p. 20 The horizontally hatched stylized relief torsos suppress the relationship to immediate reality and became a turning point towards non-figurative stones with a graphic structure, which are close to fragments of historical architecture, including the point of decay.Magdalena Juříková, 1991 Kačer's relief sculptures gradually transcended the traditional form of this genre into the realm of objects and installations, confronting the basic elements of his work with current trends.Magdalena Juříková, 1993 In 1987–1989, he also devoted himself to medal making.
Kačer treats stone as organic material, directly and indirectly following in the footsteps of Karl Prantl.Jaroslav Vanča, in: Jan Brodský (ed.) 2017, p. 11 His work in the 1990s finds itself at the intersection of natural objects and artifacts. The sculptures respect the natural shape and sometimes only emphasize it with geometric lines (Fragment, syenite, 1998). Most of them do not exceed the dimensions of a human figure, but stones erected as steles have the monumentality of a stone block (Fragment, granite, h. 460 cm, 2004, Hetzmannsdorf, Obelisk, sandstone, h. 500 cm, 2008, Kuks). Since 1985, he has called most of his works Fragments.
Fragments have multiple meanings in Kačer's work. On the one hand, they refer to a piece of stone as a smaller part of a rock that a person has taken to work on. Usually, the part where the stone was broken off is left in its natural shape (Fragment, Slivenec limestone, 2003). The worked stone itself is almost always something that has no beginning and no end; it is the middle part of a perfect abstract shape that can be extrapolated in both directions (Fragment, granite, 2001, Slivenec marble, 2006). The guessed-at prototype of the sculptures is evidence of the imaginative component of his work. The other, rationalistic component is manifested in cyclicality, rhythm, and the serial arrangement of elements, with an overlap into unexpected "spontaneous" permutation.Jaroslav Vanča, in: Jan Brodský (ed.) 2017, p. 17
The fragment is crafted so that its natural shape blends into soft curves emphasized by longitudinal lines ("Fragment," limestone, 2011). Sometimes the sculptor creates the illusion of bulging or expanding matter using transverse bands ("Fragment," Slivenec limestone, 2001), sometimes spaced at regular intervals ("Fragment," serpentine, 1999, sandstone, 2001, 2006), to constrain and limit its shape. The relief grid of the surface resembles natural organic structures ("Fragment," sandstone, 1995, serpentine, 2001) or, as a regular geometric order, evokes the austerity of architecture ("Fragment (bench)," Slivenec limestone, 2006).
A characteristic feature of the sculptor's work is the careful treatment of the surface, which respects the natural color and structure of the stone and enhances its effect. Magdalena Juříková, Jiné kameny, 2001 Kačer does not attempt to "liberate the sculpture hidden inside the stone" (if his Cores cannot be considered such a procedure), but in his sculptural work he responds to the type of material and its shape, brittleness, or pattern (Triptych, granite, marble, 1993). He has thus arrived at a highly personal sculptural expression that does not dazzle with drama and grandeur of form, but speaks through the delicate oscillation of surface modulation that respects the inherent nature and demands of stone.Ivan Neumann, 26th Mikulov Art Symposium, workshop, 2019, pp. 136, 180 In contrast to older sculptures placed on pedestals, Kačer's sculptures do not fulfill a function related to architecture or a specific environment. He has freed them from these direct connections; his sculptures are within reach, mostly freely placed, allowing direct touch and exploration of the surface.Juříková M: Other Stones by Jiří Kačer, 2001
Thanks to his regular participation in sculpture symposia, he has the opportunity to work with different types of stone and creates his works with respect for the material so as to subtly highlight its specific qualities. Ivan Neumann, 2006, p. 26 Therefore, he sometimes leaves traces of tools to highlight the rough structure (Fragment, granite, 2006), while at other times he polishes the surface to emphasize the pattern in the stone (Blocks, granite, 2006).Jaroslav Vanča, Fragmentary Forms and Coherent Ideas of Jiří Kačer In 2008, he exhibited stone cores from geological boreholes, which he individualized with restrained interventions of sculpting tools into the surface of the stone.Ivan Neumann: Jiří Kačer - Cores, 2008
Kačer's fascination with surface structures is also evident in his monochrome large-scale enamels with low relief, created at the Smalt Art symposium in Vítkovice. He later used them as a base for his frottages,Ivan Neumann, 26th Mikulov Art Symposium, workshop, Mikulov 2019, p. 80 which he exhibited in 2012 at the New Hall in Prague.
Representation in collections National Gallery Prague North Bohemian Gallery of Fine Arts in Litoměřice Gallery of Modern Art in Hradec Králové Rabas Gallery Rakovník Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic Salon de Tokyo Gallery, Japan Private collections at home and abroad
Public space installations Otisky (Imprints), sandstone, 1993, Hořice Fragment, granite, 1994, Milevsko Otisk (Imprint), sandstone, 1997, 260 cm, Kolín Nutcracker, syenite, 1998, Ondřejov Fragment, syenite, 1998, Jindřichův Hradec Drinking Fountain, granite, 2002 (120 cm), Mladá Boleslav Fragment, granite, 2003 (450 cm), Podvinný mlýn, Prague Monolith, granite, 2004 (460 cm), Hetzmannsdorf Fragment, sandstone, 2005 (350 cm), Uherský Brod Obelisk, sandstone, 2008, (500 cm), Kuks Fragment, sandstone, 2008, (360 cm), Vernéřovice Fragment, granite, 2010, Selb, Germany Sculpture for Cheb, 2013, Cheb Bench, granite, 2019, (400 cm), Mikulov Fragment, granite, 2019, Trojský zámek
Restoration and copies of sculptures During the restoration, Jiří Kačer collaborated with technologists such as Jiří Rathouský. He verified the possibilities and limits of using ethyl silicates and in the 1980s carried out work in artificial marble and stucco in Předklášteří and at Prague Castle. He participated in the restoration of the statues of the Holy Trinity Column on Malá Strana (1992–1997), the statue of St. John of Nepomuk on the Písek Stone Bridge (1996–1997, 2002–2003), the Plague Column in Znojmo (1999), the sculptures on the attic of the Tuscan Palace in Prague (1998), the Monument to Charles VI in Hlavenec (1999–2000), the war memorial in Komárov (2002), and the sculptural decoration of the staircase at Troja Castle. Petra Hoftichová, in: Jan Brodský (ed.) 2017, p. 54