The Gallery of Steel Figures in Prague (Galerie ocelových figurín) can deservedly be called unique because nowhere else in the world is a similar large installation made entirely of recycled old scrap. From time to time, the gallery of steel figures moves to other cities in the Czech Republic and also to Poland, as Galerie ocelových figurín is a mobile art project. If you are on vacation with your family in the Czech Republic and have time to attend a tour, be sure to take advantage of this opportunity — you will not see such extraordinary exhibits in any other museum.
In the two-story hall of 1500 m2, you will find fantastic steel mannequins and other exhibits created from old scrap metal. You can relax on the Iron Throne and feel like one of the Baratheon dynasty, cuddle with the Incredible Hulk, sit behind the wheel of a steampunk car, or have a cup of coffee at a glass table with a tabletop standing on Alien's back.
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The author's vision of the extraordinary exposition is to show the delicate and vulnerable nature of cold and hard steel and make us realize that unnecessary things can be given a second life with just a bit of imagination. This contrast presented by the images of the creative project leaves unforgettable impressions and emotions. Children will be delighted to meet their favorite characters, and adults will find many interesting things in Galerie ocelových figurín.
History of the exhibition
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This unique art installation was created by Pole Mariusz Olejnik, nicknamed "Jose," and opened in 2011. The idea to make such an unusual exposition came to Olejnik during a visit to the scrap metal dump Skup złomu przy czołgu in Pruszków, near Warsaw.
At that time, due to the economic crisis, the price of scrap metal had fallen dramatically, and Mariusz Olejnik wondered what to do with such a considerable amount of metal waste. Suddenly, he came up with a creative idea — why not use scrap metal to create works of art?
It was at the scrap metal dump that Oleynik's team made their first piece. It was a coffee table converted from a V8 engine. "Jose" had a passion for cars and motorcycles, so when creating most of the sculptures, he was inspired by this very passion of his.
Almost all of the exhibits are made by hand welding without the use of heavy equipment. The artisans wield only welding machines, hammers, and cutting torches. Even in the case of the big Iron Man, which consists of 37 thousand nuts welded from the inside, the sculptors did not use any special equipment.
The beauty of the technology used to create steel figures is that there are no limitations. Masters can create anything they can imagine: animals, furniture, cars, sculptures, historical figures, and fictional characters.
As a rule, one statue takes one to eight months, depending on its size. If it is necessary to create a copy of a car (the similarity of the body to the original is 90%), it takes 7,000 hours of work by four people.
First, you need to create a map grid with the image of the future sculpture. Next, it is necessary to prepare a model. And finally, with the help of a burner with high temperature — the primary tool of each master of the team — to create magic. That is how a real work of art is born out of a pile of old scrap metal under the hand of an experienced creator.
The main challenge begins after the sculpture is finished and is transported to the museum. For this purpose, various lifting mechanisms are used, and physically strong workers are employed. But some figures are still so heavy that they have to be dismantled into fragments to be transported to the gallery piece by piece and reassembled on site.
The Gallery of Steel Figures has quickly become one of Prague's most recognizable and popular tourist attractions. Moreover, this place is considered a symbol of modern art in the Czech capital and attracts thousands of tourists yearly. The gallery also serves as a reminder that art can take many forms and is essential for discussing important philosophical and ethical issues in modern society.
Mariusz Olejnik, who saw beauty in an ordinary pile of metal, wanted to show others that beauty surrounds us everywhere; the main thing is to be able to see it.
Exhibition areas
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Today, the gallery features sculptures by 120 artists worldwide, who are members of international teams and work in different countries. It is a demanding job, during which the artists spend thousands of hours creating the steel sculptures. The necessary material, i.e., recycled scrap metal, is imported from a scrap yard in Poland.
All sculptures are created from scrap metal of different sizes. Most often, they are spare parts and fragments of cars and motorcycles. The largest components of the sculptures include engine parts, gearboxes, brake pads, and chains, and the smallest are parts such as bolts, nuts, and gears.
Sculptures can be roughly divided into three categories based on weight:
- small statuettes the size of a child up to 140 cm tall and weighing about 50-100 kg;
- medium-sized sculptures up to 230 cm high and weighing 300 to 500 kg;
- the most giant statues, including models of luxury cars, 320 cm tall and weighing up to 1,200 kg.
All exhibits are interactive. Want to sit in a car or on a motorcycle? No problem! Hurry up and saddle up your iron horse and take a memorable photo. Some exhibits have moving elements, such as a rotating steering wheel, a moving gear lever, or an adjustable rearview mirror, which the youngest visitors to the Galerie ocelových figurín especially enjoy. Touching the mannequins and borrowing their weapons, helmets, and other details for a photo is not only allowed but encouraged here.
Dinosaurs made of gear, cartoon characters including Mickey Mouse and Garfield, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, the entire Marvel team, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson — children will be pleased with such exhibits. However, it is not so much the variety of sculptures that amazes but the skill with which they are made.
Each visitor can try to create figures from individual parts, as there is a creative workshop on the gallery's territory.
Visitors leave the Galerie ocelových figurín not only with vivid impressions but also with original souvenirs. The gallery has a Gifty Shop where you can buy unusual items: handmade jewelry made of old watch movements, men's bracelets and cufflinks, pendants in the form of robots, mini-sculptures, as well as magnets, badges, and T-shirts with the gallery's merchandise.
Services
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The entire exhibition area is equipped for the needs of people with disabilities, and there are elevators and restrooms. The gallery creators have also taken care of the convenience of visitors with small children. You can feed your baby and change his diaper in a special room.
The gallery has free Wi-Fi so visitors can take photos and share them online, directly from the exhibition hall. The gallery offers many opportunities to use the space. For example, it is allowed to celebrate birthdays and organize other festive parties.
Tips
- Buying tickets online is more profitable; in this case, visitors get a 10% discount.
- Tickets can be bought as a gift certificate, a great gift for any celebration.
- Tickets do not need to be booked in advance. Pre-booking is only required for organized groups.
- Parents of infants can bring strollers, as the exhibition area is adapted to pass children's transport. There is also an elevator and a changing room.
- If you plan to get there by car, the nearest parking lot can be found in the Kotva shopping center, which is about 400 m away from the gallery.
- Allocate about two hours to visit the steel figure gallery. The exhibit is quite large and takes some time. Besides, you will probably want to take memorable photos or attend a creative workshop.
