Michal Cimala

I’ve always been focused on the figural sculpturing of our times.

––Michal Cimala, Sculptor

Michal Cimala is a Prague-based sculptor, painter, designer, and DJ. Across media, Cimala’s work is disruptive and severe, with aggressive form, figures, and colors. He re-appropriates images and collages, paints, edits, and sculpts psychologically confronting works. 

Cimala studied metal and jewelry at the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague. His creative skills range from traditional two-dimensional wall art to large scale outdoor sculptures to instruments to interior design. His artistry knows no bounds––he uses collage, acrylic, silkscreen, airbrush, iron, and acoustic foam to breathe life into his unique art objects. His current Extended Heads series has been a long-term exploration of human form and mystery. Inspired by baroque sculptor Messerschmidt, these obtrusive human heads are modeled by hand in clay and then cast in molds, an ongoing process of development that can take up to four years. Cimala’s heads have been exhibited in Prague by renowned art historian Otto M. Urban, at the SCOPE Art Fair in New York, and at the Vienna Contemporary Art Fair. Interested in paranoia and human isolation, Cimala spent his quarantine making special COVID heads equipped with masks, respirators, and helmets. Across all of Cimala’s art-making practices, there is a common theme of challenging, confronting, and even disturbing the viewer. 

Cimala co-founded Trafačka studios and Trafo Gallery in Prague. His works can be found in the permanent collections of the North Bohemian Museum in Liberec, the National Technical Museum in Prague, the Gallery of Fine Art in Roudnice nad Labem, and the Kunst und Gewerbe Museum in Hamburg. Cimala’s work is in private collections internationally.