Ondřej Oliva: Abysslantis

Breathe in. Submerge. We become aware only of our own existence, of time and space. Before us emerge the remnants of an unknown civilisation, gradually reclaimed by nature. Once lifeless, functional objects are transformed in the depths into oases of burgeoning new life.

In the exhibition ABBYSLANTIS, sculptor Ondřej Oliva once again explores the clash between nature and human civilisation, posing deeply personal questions: What will remain of us? In what state will we leave the Earth? Here, visitors become observers in a kind of frozen, timeless space. They are left alone with themselves, having to let go of everything else for a moment. They symbolically descend into the depths of their own thoughts, just as a diver plunges into the ocean to uncover the remains of an unknown, once-proud civilisation that nature has gradually reclaimed. We see the remnants of beams from unknown structures, along with piers and rigging overgrown with shells. Just as coral reefs engulf shipwrecks, transforming them into sanctuaries for new life, nature here builds its own temples.

The artist reinforces this motif through audiovisual projection, which helps visitors simulate a descent beneath the water’s surface. Oliva evokes the sensations experienced by divers and freedivers: surrounded by seemingly endless darkness, pierced only by faint remnants of light, they feel nothing but silence, a slowed heartbeat and pressure enveloping the entire body.

The encounter between the organic and the artificial has long been at the centre of Ondřej Oliva’s sculptural practice. He works exclusively with metal. This is partly rooted in the environment in which he grew up alongside his father, the renowned sculptor Otmar Oliva, an environment that naturally shaped his artistic outlook. Equally important are the intrinsic properties of the material, which offer a broad range of possibilities. Beyond the physical limitations of the material itself, the possibilities for shaping the final form are virtually limitless.

Oliva’s early works were characterised by urgency and rawness (SLICES OF LIFE, 2014, and AGRESSIVE STANCE, 2011). They not only engaged with critiques of society and consumerism but also conveyed an unspoken tension through their very aesthetic form. Over the years, however, Oliva’s work has evolved towards greater subtlety of form and an increased emphasis on detail. This precision brings him to the point of literally imprinting original organic structures and arresting them in time. It is almost as if we were looking at petrified tree trunks or impressions of the shells of ancient organisms. Yet here, instead of the slow processes of nature unfolding over millennia, it is intensive human labour that shapes the result — a mere flash in the vastness of time.

Ondřej Oliva (*1982) lives and works in Velehrad. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (2005–2010), in Jaroslav Róna’s Sculpture Studio I. His work has been presented in numerous exhibitions and public spaces. His most recent public commission is the Memorial to the Work of Bishop Karel of Liechtenstein-Castelcorn (2025), located near the château in Kroměříž.

Curator: Ivan Bergmann