PATH OF LIFE / CESTA ŽIVOTA

SMETANOVA LITOMYSL

PATH OF LIFE

UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE TOWN OF LITOMYŠL, THE SMETANA'S LITOMYŠL FESTIVAL, AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC, MR. PETR PAVEL

ART CURATOR: MARTINA ZUZAŇÁKOVÁ, DIRECTOR OF THE MUNICIPAL GALLERY OF LITOMYŠL

The work was designed and produced for the 200th anniversary of the birth of the genius of Czech music, Bedřich Smetana. The ceremonial unveiling on 8 June 2024 was attended by: the author of the work, the mayor of Litomyšl Daniel Brýdl, the president of Smetana Litomyšl Pavel Kyselka, the director of the festival Michal Medek, and the director of the Municipal Gallery Litomyšl Martina Zuzaňáková.

The work is located in the grounds of the Monastery Gardens in Litomyšl. The patronage of the festival was taken over by the President of the Czech Republic, Mr. Petr Pavel. The city of Litomyšl is under the protection of UNESCO.

Artist: Rudolf Burda

Curator: Martina Zuzaňáková

Since childhood, I have attended the Jabkenická branch near Mladá Boleslav, where Bedřich Smetana lived at the end of his life. I have always loved the place for its amazing, wild and romantic nature, old stout trees, and a system of quiet ponds... It was there that my dad introduced me to the musical legacy of Bedřich Smetana. To his work, which deeply fascinates and fulfills me. The creation of this sculpture is like a dream come true, a certain life continuity...

PATH OF LIFE has the shape of a completely regular stainless steel ball. The sphere is the most perfect shape contained in the macrocosm and the microcosm - in the work PATH OF LIFE it symbolizes our life, life and the inner closed universe of master Bedřich Smetana. In the upper part, a stainless steel highly polished tube passes, tilted towards the stars and the sun, symbolizing our ascent into space - the only sure justice - the way up. Colored glass (Czech hand-melted crystal) is fitted inside the tube - green like nature, blue like the water surface, and yellow like the sun's rays. Their combination within the work creates an abstract so-called color music, endlessly changing and intermingling. These references and colors are contained in the work of Bedřich Smetana and are his strong inspiration.

The work reflects the surrounding space, historical architecture, and nature. It positively deforms it, creating its own unique universe. As the base of the sculpture, I chose the completely black Nero Assoluto African granite, in which the work is mirrored. I am happy and proud that I could leave my distinctive modern artwork in the wonderful city of Litomyšl under the patronage of UNESCO.

Rudolf Burda 8/6/2024

One can hardly imagine a more apt symbol of Smetana's art than Rudolf Burda's Life Path sculpture. On its surface, the beautiful environment of the monastery gardens is reflected in the same way as it once entered the soul of little Bedřich. In the view of the sculpture, we see a ripple of colors that remind us of the harmonious palette of his symphonic poems. Our sight leads to distant clouds and stars, just as Smetana's top works aimed to musical horizons that few of his contemporaries could see. After a hundred years, we have a statue from Smetana, which, like the whole of Litomyšl, shows how tradition can be combined with modernity.

Pavel Kyselka - President of Smetana's Litomyšl 6/19/2024

HAND SKETCH