Sabina Knetlová (b.1996) is an Ostrava-based sculptor whose work centres on the concept of tangibility in material form. The raw media used in her sculptures fervently reflect the form and rigidity of industrial materials, as well as unrefined, expressive movement. As Knetlová articulates this idea, “a sculpture is not a record, but a way of imprinting the moment into the body of a thing”, capturing how her sculptures translate the surrounding diversity of the world, whilst absorbing the richness of chromatic entity into sculptural form.
Her intrigue for sculpture and material elements expanded artistically throughout her academic journey, while her inspiration and sculptural work are tightly intertwined. What she experiences, perceives, and admires in the world directly shapes the forms of material and textures of her pieces, creating objects that feel reflective and in balance with both history and contemporary life. Drawn to timelessness, ancient Egyptian art, her appreciation encapsulates how ancient figures “don’t exhibit but rather accumulate energy inside” (as the artist expressed in an interview with Telegraph.cz), creating a presence of connectedness across time.
“They look through us, far beyond us, somehow across time. I don’t think I can describe it the way I’d like to. I try to work with that inner energy in my sculptures”, she says. Many of Knetlová’s pieces preserve these classic artisanal methods, while simultaneously drawn to experimentation in more sinuous form: echoing a classic emphasis on the balance between tradition and innovation. Casting found materials, notably branches, into forms, gestures and tactile material – inspiring the transition into figurative modelling as visualised in earlier works.
Knetlová has built an extensive exploration of polychrome in recent works, Spider (2024) and Injured Hands (2024), through the medium of polychrome linden wood and the emphasis on life form – momentarily drawing in the observer of Injured Hands and begging the question, might the sharpened, blade-like fingers function as a protective apparatus as an imminent threat, a catalayst causing the circle back to the notion of injury itself?
No Matter The Day, The Moon Came Up
In her 2021 exhibit, No Matter The Day, the Moon Came up (Měsíc vyšel bez ohledu na den), the concept of a liminal moment is explored: when the moon appears in daylight, transforming the ordinary into something dreamlike. In this invisible night, everyday objects acquire new meanings and sensitivities, creating a meditative space where familiar logic dissolves. Motif reinforces her sculptural philosophy of quiet, concentrated energy existing outside temporal boundaries.
In the piece Drop at the End of the Finger (2022), previously displayed at Karpuchina Gallery, one can see a concrete and polychrome utilitarian-like sculpture that visually suggests a brutal nature. Knetlová’s technique transforms the heaviness into a suggestive visual depth, transforming astronomical predictability into visual poetry that speaks to our longing for continuation and constancy amid change.
The poignancy of the smooth curvatures of fluid, divine-like forms and rigid architectural blocks “corresponds to the society of mass production and draws on the intricate and powerful forces of gritty poetry.” Drawing aesthetic dimension and creating visual poetry on the concrete, monochromatic shades of the exhibit, drawing attention to the primordial figurative placement.
Polychrome, Concrete and a Garden Hose
In her 2024 display What Do My Eyes Look Like, the question of movement is strongly conveyed. Bodies shift weight, kneeling rock forms perform the micro-choreography of discomfort; your eyes play a part in the shift of layout in minimalism and sculpture, tracing the hose that develops into a spider-like figure. Knetlová advocates for open interpretation in her work, with the core as a foundation, profoundly noted in her work.
The chords, almost blending with the background and floor of her series, create an internal chord for structures such as life, trees, and roots, serving as a representation for both material and conceptual forms of life and industry.
The exhibit itself effectively merges precise form with notions of repose, harmony and tranquillity, carrying a cold precision of industry alongside an aching melancholy, much like the recurring theme in Knetlova’s work – moving through sculptures fixed landscape, she both isolates forms and maintains a duality of these recurring themes of permanence.
And so, her sculptural inquiry exudes a quiet and contemplative solitude, permanence and decay – the tension of what is fixed and what slips away, wrestling with refuge, ruin, and the erosion of time. Her work creates a statement for what concrete is – in both physical and metaphorical senses – releasing the term from its oppression. It unsettles the certainty we describe as “concrete”, if the name itself is less definitive than we believe.
Knetlová has a keen eye for shifts in everyday life, which she weaves together and interprets in near-figurative ways. Her works lean and gesture toward various meanings, existing in a visual space where distinction and interpretation remain open to the viewer.
Sabina Knetlová graduated from Ostrava University Faculty of Arts with a Master’s Degree in Sculpture (2021). Her work has been exhibited in galleries and art fairs across Europe and internationally, namely Art Depot Gallery (Innsbruck) and Credo Bonum Gallery (Sofia). Knetlová has established herself as a distinguished name in Central-Eastern Europe, with her work represented by the Karpuchina Gallery (Prague).
