Pistols (Pistole), 1994
David Cerny

Pistols (Pistole), 1994
Installation in the World Trade Center NYC
Fiberglass, sound, dimensions 420 x 220 x 63 cm each

David Cerny
winner Jindřich Chalupecký Award , 2000
Artist statement / about artist Artist resume News from the artist

DavidČerný is a Czech sculptor whose works can be seen in many locations in Prague. His works tend to be controversial. He gained notoriety in 1991 by painting pink a Soviet tank that served as a war memorial in central Prague. As the Monument to Soviet tank crews was still a national cultural monument at that time, his act of civil disobedience was considered "hooliganism" and he was briefly arrested.
Another of Černý's conspicuous contributions to Prague is "Tower Babies," a series of cast figures of crawling infants attached to Žižkov Television Tower.
In 2005, Černý created Shark, an image of Saddam Hussein in a tank of formaldehyde. The work was presented at the Prague Biennale 2 that same year. The work is a direct parody of a 1991 work by Damien Hirst, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. In 2006, the work was banned twice, first in Middelkerke, Belgium, then in Bielsko-Biala, Poland. With respect to the Belgian situation, the mayor of that town, Michel Landuyt, admitted that he was worried about the potential of offending Muslims in a year already marred by tensions associated with Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed.

Last update:
04. 01. 2010 09:08:37
Metalmorphosis, 2007 Metalmorphosis, 2007 Shark, 2005 Shark,  detail, 2005 STATION (ZASTAVKA) , 2005  Instalation in Ronald Feldman Gallery NY Jesus Christ, from the series - Kits,1993 Pistols (Pistole), 1994