Michal Trpák

Michal Trpák (*1982) is a sculptor and one of the most prominent figures in contemporary Czech sculpture in public spaces. He studied in the sculpture studio of Professor Jiří Beránek at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague and received his doctorate from the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica. His sculptures can be found in the streets of Czech towns as well as in Germany, Italy, Iceland, Canada, and Greece, including the "Humanoids" on Lannova Avenue in České Budějovice and the three steel manta rays floating above Opletalova Street in Olomouc. Since 2007, he has organized the "Art in the City" exhibition in České Budějovice, and since 2015, he has been behind the international festival "Sculpture Line," making him one of the people who have most transformed the face of Czech sculpture outside of galleries. The "Pets" series, from which this edition originates, magnifies the shapes of bacteria to human scale and turns them into playful beings that, unlike most sculptures, one is allowed to touch; one of them even rests in the Prague Botanical Garden.