Currently, the realms of the artificial and the natural are increasingly intertwining to the point of becoming indistinguishable. Technological structures are entering human organicity; concepts of the natural mind are intertwining with technological algorithms, coexisting in a certain way. Martina Hozová and Kryštof Kaplan have long explored manifestations of this hybridity in their sculptural works. On the one hand, they highlight the schematic and mechanical nature of the human, the process of erasing what is individual and plastically diverse; on the other hand, they create forms in the spirit of anthropomorphizing the technical.

Martina Hozová derives human figures from the morphology of industrially manufactured components, emphasizing the social tendency toward uniformity, conformity, and the stereotypical survival of the individual within the system. She highlights the problematic nature of our fascination with technological possibilities, which visibly impoverish human creativity and natural freedom. She often chooses the form of the grotesque to express tragic content. The dominant visual focal point of the current exhibition is the figurative installation Alternace (2022), consisting of eight Lazars, whose non-individualized bodies—entirely bound by horizontal cables—draw attention to themselves with their signal-red color. The simple, schematic figural forms are capable of rotating around their own vertical axis, which could be a source of transformation in their interrelationships; in reality, however, this expressive element rather reinforces a state of paralysis—the result of dependence on mass media or social networks. Similarly, in the sculpture Profiles (2019)—composed of a multiplication of a unified head silhouette, with elements of wiring symbolizing the nervous system—the themes of prefabrication and mutual alienation are present. The artist has always been interested in people and the ways they communicate as times change, but above all in the theme of targeted manipulation of human society. In the figurative series Schlauchtüllemenschen (2025), the artist draws on the morphology of technical components from the NORMA company; she had already used this approach in 2016 to create the relief structure of the series Neun Schlauchtüllemenschen in neun Abzweigdosen. It is precisely this element of absurdity that creates a sense of playfulness through the chosen colors and gestural movements, which contrast with the uniform design of the figures. The artist has long explored the artistic possibilities of the relationship between a unified formal foundation and the detailed elements that establish variations in types. She now conveys the theme of the norm primarily in a dystopian sense, as a reflection of the dominant expression of society as a whole.

Kryštof Kaplan works with the interplay of technical and organic plasticity, creating specific organoid objects based on the principles of construction, mechanics, and anthropomorphic relationships. He is interested in the expressive possibilities of figures formed according to the principle of modular composition. His current works are influenced by a change in his place of residence. The center of Prague has been replaced by the solitude of a farmstead with an orchard, which has also transformed the nature of his sculptural thinking. “His current objects are shifting toward autonomous organisms that emerge from observations of the landscape, the farm environment, and the life within it. They are not based on specific biological models, but emerge as new morphologies oscillating between plant and animal principles.” (KK) Thanks to the way they are installed and their human scale, these independent entities naturally share the environment with the viewer’s space. The current exhibition features, for example, “Opposition of the Orchard”, created directly on the basis of the artist’s real-life work and lived experience: “Here, the orchard does not appear as an image of nature, but as a space of work, care, cultivation, and cyclical time. The organism emerging from it is neither a tree nor an animal—it represents an autonomous form arising within this environment.” In other works, Kryštof Kaplan reflects on the themes of inhabiting, adapting to, and settling a space. “The object The Hermit, created from an old threshing machine found on a farm, draws on the principle of a hermit crab occupying a found shell. Here, the agricultural machine ceases to be a tool and acquires a new life cycle.“ (KK) Kryštof Kaplan’s sculptural works have always been characterized by a sense of grandeur, behind which we perceive a moment of expansion and dynamism. In his current works, this manifests itself through the very possibility of relocating the sculpture. The sculptural beings embody fragments of formerly functional mechanisms from the reality of the farm, created from materials present in the everyday functioning of this environment and, at the same time, sculptural in nature. They literally coexist within the artist’s living space, where a barn has been transformed into a sculpture studio and a spacious courtyard—partially framed by a stone structure—has become the stage for the area’s contemporary social and cultural life. This is a unique collection of works that visualize the theme of symbiosis in space, reflecting concrete experiences of life in the countryside.

The current evolution of Kryštof Kaplan’s sculptural works, in its own way, reinforces the very theme of the exhibition—the interrelationship between worlds of opposing nature. The technical world is generally not only inspired by the natural world but also draws heavily upon it. This unequal relationship has been repeatedly highlighted in culture, often with a distinctly cautionary tone. More than a century has passed since Čapek’s iconic play R.U.R., which pointed to the destructive power of technology. His robots, in the form of biological machines, are becoming a reality in today’s world defined by the influence of AI. However, visions are also emerging in which the interpenetration of the technical and natural realms takes on a creative character, where a dangerous parasitic relationship might perhaps be replaced by symbiosis.

Martina Hozová (*1971) studied from 1985 to 1989 at the Secondary School of Applied Arts for Sculpture and Stone Carving in Hořice and from 1989 to 1995 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (sculpture studio, Karel Nepraš); in 1993, she completed an internship at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Stuttgart. From 2006 to 2008, she completed postgraduate studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (restoration studio, Petr Siegel). Since 2012, she has been teaching at the Secondary School of Applied Arts for Sculpture and Stone Carving in Hořice (restoration program). Selected solo exhibitions from recent years: The Dolls Walked Down the Street, Škroupovka Gallery, Hradec Králové, 2023; Long-Playing Kids, B. Borovský Gallery, Hradec Králové, 2025; Norma, AXA Storefronts, Prague, 2026. She is the creator of the sculptures Žofie Chotková’s Fan – Fountain (1st place in the competition, 2014), located at the Písek Gate in Prague, 2019; or, for example, the Niche Chapel of St. Francis, Liberec-Ruprechtice, 2025. She also specializes in restoration and the creation of original replicas.

Kryštof Kaplan (*1987) studied from 2002 to 2006 at the Secondary School of Applied Arts for Sculpture and Stone Carving in Hořice and from 2008 to 2013 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (sculpture studio, Jindřich Zeithamml), where he also served as a teaching assistant from 2015 to 2016. Selected exhibitions from recent years: Korporealita, Pragovka Gallery, Prague, 2020 (solo exhibition); Re_form, Trafo Gallery, Prague, 2020; Smetanova Litomyšl, 2021; Solárium, (A)void Gallery, Prague, 2022 (solo exhibition); Hladkáň, Galerie Dům, Broumov, 2022 (solo exhibition); What Remains, Galerie plastik, Hořice, 2024. In 2008, he co-founded the band Vložte kočku, and, together with his brother Cyril, continues to perform as the musical duo Kaplan Bros; he is currently collaborating with Viktorie Kaplanová Dugranpere on the “electro-baroque” concert performance Too hot to Händel: KaplanSynthehic.