emil venkov

   Life and work  

 official website

  of the artist. 

Work

  The sculptor Emil Venkov is known to most of us mostly as a sculptor – monumentalist. An artist who – in big, robust, dramatic matters and volumes – expresses very convinctingly his feeling and recognition of the world, he materializes his dialogue and struggle with adamant but inspirative matter. Many of his sculptural proposals won the nationwide Slovak architectonic – sculptural competitions and as the realized works they later became an inseparable part of more sites of monuments, exterior and interior places, whether the works were related to revolutionary history of our nation, or works exceptionally present, expressing the life feeling of human being of modern civilisation. Sculpturally the works are „hand-shaped“ by a specifically rough, robust and dynamic „country“ signature with courageous space – capacity solution, integrated and richly developed composition undauntedly continuing its dialogue with the surrounding environment.

     To better understand all relations of richly differentiated Venkov´s creation, we focus, in a stricter chronology and analysis, on its first and decisive impulses that participate in formation of individual sculptural author´s conception who at the end of the 1960´s brings specifically very well-marked and individualized opinion into Slovak sculpture. The art critism did unambiguously agreed on basic features of the Venkov´s sculptural programme – dramatic character, robustness and dynamism as basic qualities significantly unchained themselves from the context and layout of the Slovak sculpture and perhaps also from the mentality of our nation. This otherness logically springs from the environment in which human, artistic and ethical nature of Emil Venkov formed. In the beginning of Emil Venkov´s pilgrimage was a deep resonance of the essence, mentality and coloring of Bulgarian ethnic origin which he comes from, and then developed by inspirative environment of Slovakia and Bratislava´s University of Arts and also by Rudolf Pribiš who wisely and sensitively lead his pupils and Venkov alone – complicated, contradictory, impulsive Venkov who firmly pursues his sculptural and life goals.
 

   The beginnings of Venkov´s art torrents are related to cabinet creation. It becomes the first pre-picture of author´s uneasy quests, struggles and victories over matter, means for verification of new creative practices and experiments, the first springboard platform toward solution of demanding works for architecture. Venkov´s cabinet plastic art from 1960´s and 1970´s are dressed in a daring dialogue with surrounding space that penetrates the sculpture extraordinarily, puts dynamism in it, opens and becomes a natural part of the composition. The world of natural and human forms becomes the sculptor´s inspirative spring. By rational and simultaneously impulsive thought correction he comes to the point of considerable elementariness of shapes which, however, never lose contact with reality. Venkov´s plastic works, charged with extraordinary energy and vitality, interpret to us author´s wide spectrum of feelings bound mostly to existence and mutual coexistence of all of us.

Danica Loviskova
 

List of monumental works

• A female Weaver, exterior statue, 1963, Locatio: entrance area of the Cotton Works, Ružomberok. Epoxide, Height: 350 cm

• Folk dance, relief, 1964, Location: Shoe Works, Gottwaldov. Epoxide. Size: 110 x 250 cm

• Relief, 1965, Location: fasade of the Ukrainian Museum, Svidnik. Bronze. Size: 100 x 220 cm

• Desire, exterior statue, 1968. Location: Juh housing estate, Pezinok. Metal. Size: 320 x 130 x 90 cm

• Fusion, exterior statue, 1969. Location: entrance area of the polyclinic, Nové mesto nad Váhom. Stone. Size: 150 x 240 x 95 cm

• Touch, exterior statue, 1970. Location: housing estate, Šamorín. Stone. Height: 260 cm

• Martyr's Memorial, 1971. Location: Komárno, square. Concrete. Size: 750 x 370 x 80 cm.

• Duel, exterior statue, 1972. Location: Galanta, square. Stone. Size: 370 x 150 x 95 cm

• Desire for Flying, statue, 1972. Location: Sereď, park. Stone. Height: 230 cm

• Daphne, exterior statue, 1973. Location: House of Culture, Šaľa. Stone. Height: 330 cm.

• Mother Earth, exterior statue, 1974. Location: Galanta, housing estate. Stone. Height: 260 cm.

• Friendship, exterior statue, 1975. Location: entrance area of the CHZJD House of Culture, Bratislava. Stone. Size: 270 x 150 x 90 cm

• Flower, exterior statue, 1975. Location: Čachtice, elementary school entrance area. Stone. Height: 230 cm.

• Exterior statue, 1976. Location: Harmónia, premises of the Centre of Further Education. Metal. Height: 220 cm.

• Reliefs, 1976. Location: Zvolen, lobby of the Central Army House. Epoxide. Size: 200 x 120 cm.

• Motherhood, exterior statue, 1976. Galanta, housing estate. Stone. Height: 270 cm.

• Slovak National Uprising Memorial, 1977. Location: Teplá peak. Conrete reliefs. Size: 230 x 130 cm

• Slovak National Uprising Memorial, 1977. Location: Hrušov. Stone. Height: 470 cm.

• Girl with  a Dove, exterior statue, 1978. Location: Košice, park in front of an elementary school. Metal. Height: 220 cm.

• Ivan Vazov plaque, 1979. Location: Bratislava, fasade of the Ivan Vazov Secondary Grammar School. Bronze. Size: 120 x 80 cm.

• Peace, exterior statue, 1979. Location: Trenčín, atrium of the national comitee. Concrete. Size: 750 x 160 x 80 cm.

• Ode to Joy, exterior statue, 1980. Location: Piešťany, in front of the House of Art. Metal. Height: 750 cm.

• Franz Lehár memorial, exterior statue. 1980. Location: Komárno, park. Bronze. Height: 390 cm.

• 1931 Peasant Uprising Memorial, 1981. Location: Košúty, square. Stone. Height: 530 cm.

• Peace, exterior statue, 1982. Location: Pobědim, entrance area of the House of Culture. Concrete. Size: 750 x 160 x 80 cm.

• Caryatid, exterior statue, 1982. Location: Trenčín, M. A. Bazovský Regional gallery. Stone. Height: 320 cm.

• Flying, exterior statue, 1983. Location: Bratislava, Slovnaft apprentice school. Metal. Height: 330 cm.

• Victory, exterior statue, 1984. Location: Trenčianske Teplice. Metal. Height: 540 cm. 

• Andrej Bagar plaque, 1984. Location: Trenčianske Teplice, Andrej Bagar's native house. Bronze. Size: 170 x 90 cm.

• Decorative Wall, 1985. Location: Michalovce, national comitee. Stone. Size: 180 x 420 cm.

• Return, statuary, 1985. Location: Bratislava, Port office building. Concrete. Size: 600 x 450 x 220 cm.

• Relief, 1986. Location: Prešov, entrance hall of the national comitee. Epoxide. Size: 230 x 120 cm.

• J. A. Komenský memorial, 1986. Location: Trnava. Epoxide. Height: 230 cm.

• Decorative wall, 1987. Location: Prešov, entrance hall of the national comitee. Epoxide. Size: 230 x 120 cm.

• Pieta, 1987. Location: Štúrovo, military cemetery. Stone. Size 600 x 270 x 220 cm.

• Relief, 1988. Location: Bratislava, entrance hall of the TASR agency. Metal. Size: 150 x 450 cm.

• Icarus, exterior statue. Location: Bratislava, Lúky, housing estate. Metal. Height: 370 cm.

• St. Gorazd altar, 1993 - 2000. Location: Vrbové, st. Gorazd's Church. Epoxide. Height: 1700 cm. 

• St. Luke, relief, 1993 - 2000. Location: Pezinok, chapel of the F. Pinel hospital. Epoxide. Height: 260 cm.

• F. Pinel memorial, 2001 - 2002. Location: Pezinok, F. Pinel hospital. Bronze, stone, Height: 240 cm.

• Message, a collection of 8 monumental statues, 2001 - 2002. Location: Danubiana Museum of Modern Art (Čuňovo) and artist's own residence.