Veronika Psotková

Veronika Psotková was born on 17 October 1981 in Opava. She studied at the Mendel Grammar School in Opava (1997–2001), then mathematics and art education at the Faculty of Education of Palacký University in Olomouc (2001–2006, Mgr.) and sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts of Brno University of Technology — Sculpture Studio I under Michal Gabriel (2004/2005–2009, MgA.). Her diploma work “Grandfather’s Garden”, a set of 28 figures, won her the Dean’s Prize of the Faculty of Fine Arts in 2009. Since graduating she has worked as an independent artist; since 2010 she has lived with her family near Prague.

Her work grows out of the principles of realist figurative sculpture. Since 2007, when she made her first wire sculptures, she has worked with a unique technique of hand-stitching and plaiting rabitz mesh (builders’ mesh) — a method she discovered and developed herself. Translucent yet monumental, the figures set up a play of light and shadow; in her “sculptural diary” she comments on family life, partnership and motherhood. She has made works for churches, museums, galleries and public space (2006–2020), among them the set of 17 figures “Synchronised Swimmers” at the Forum shopping centre in Liberec, altar sculptures (such as the altar of St Joseph in Slavětín), the work “The Ride” for a roundabout in Trutnov, installations in Mladá Boleslav, Český Krumlov, Litvínov and Liberec, and the site-specific installation “Together / At Hers” (2019, DOX Prague).

She has held almost 50 solo and over 50 group exhibitions in the Czech Republic and abroad (including Venice and NordArt in Germany).

Awards: Dean’s Prize of the Faculty of Fine Arts for her diploma work (2009), honourable mention in Building of the Year 2021 of the Hradec Králové Region, Publikums Preis / visitors’ prize at NordArt (2021), BIG SEE Architecture Award in the category of public and cultural buildings (2024).