The sculpture collection, 'Statues of Virtue and Vice of Today’s Time', 300 Years Later, is now assembled and displayed in all its glory at the EPO I gallery.

"During the spring of 2024, we had the pleasure of hosting artist and sculptor Matyáš Chochola in our robotic laboratory. He shared with us his collection of sketches for some large-scale sculptures, inspired by the baroque sculpture series of Virtues and Vices by Mathias Bernard Braun at the Kuks hospital.

Matyáš wanted to create a modern-day reflection of these sculptures, 300 years later.

The original sculpture series at the Kuks hospital consists of 24 pieces, carved from sandstone and it took 20 stonemasons over two years to complete. By contrast, we have managed to create 12 pieces in 7 months, with our team of five specialists, and our ABB robot, using 3D-printed concrete.

The sculptures stand between 3.5 and 4 metres tall and weigh between 1,000 and 1,300 kg. Due to transport conditions, they were printed in several sections, and later joined together with an internal steel framework. Throughout the printing process, Matyáš infused the sculptures with his personal touch, adding pigment to the concrete mixture and later enhancing each one with glass and metal elements.

I’ll admit, when I first saw the sketches, I had my doubts about whether it would all come together as a coherent whole. But Matyáš’s passion and energy is contagious, and before long, we’d divided up the elements, programmed everything, and managed to print and assemble it all.

When we stood before the finished sculptures at the opening in Trutnov on that late December day, seeing the series as a whole, we felt an immense sense of pride. I hope the photos can convey the feeling we had at that moment.."

"I must admit, when I first saw the sketches, I had serious doubts about whether they could actually be brought to life."

A genuine sense of achievement...

The opening night at the EPO1 Gallery in Trutnov