Ondřej Oliva: ABYSSLANTIS

Ondřej Oliva: ABYSSLANTIS

The Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín, Czech Republic, presents ABYSSLANTIS, a solo exhibition by Czech sculptor Ondřej Oliva, who is represented by Artistics, on view from August 12 to October 25, 2026. Conceived as an immersive journey beneath the ocean's surface, the exhibition brings together a monumental installation of six aluminum sculptures and two bronze works, inviting visitors to explore an imagined underwater world where time, nature and human civilization converge.

At the heart of the exhibition is BENTHORELIC, a new sculptural installation composed of six monumental sculptures in nickeled aluminum and elox aluminum. The title combines the words benthos—the ecosystem of the ocean floor—and relic, referring to the remains of the past. Oliva uses the term to describe architectural fragments and human-made structures that have spent centuries beneath the sea, gradually merging with marine life to become entirely new ecosystems. Together, the sculptures evoke the remains of a poetic, contemporary Atlantis.

The exhibition has been conceived as an experience as much as a presentation of sculpture. Monumental works emerge from a dark blue environment reminiscent of the seabed, while a low-frequency soundscape based on recordings from the deep ocean and an audiovisual projection recreate the sensation of descending beneath the surface. Rather than illustrating the underwater world, the exhibition invites visitors into a gradual moment of discovery, where the silent remains of a forgotten civilization slowly emerge from the darkness.

While ABYSSLANTIS opens a new chapter in Oliva's practice, it also continues his long-standing exploration of the relationship between organic growth and human-made structures. As Ivan Bergmann, Curator of the Sculpture Collection at the Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín, observes, "The clash between the organic and the artificial has long been at the center of sculptor Ondřej Oliva's focus." Cast from weathered wooden beams into aluminum and bronze, the sculptures preserve every crack, fracture and trace of erosion with extraordinary precision before being completed through hand patination and meticulous finishing. The result is a remarkable sculptural illusion in which weathered wood and metal become almost indistinguishable.

Beyond its immersive setting and technical achievement, ABYSSLANTIS is ultimately a meditation on time. As Oliva explains, "I wanted to stop time and capture the moment when decay freezes, leaving the object preserved forever." By giving lasting form to objects caught in the midst of transformation, the artist invites viewers to reflect on transience, memory and the enduring dialogue between human civilization and the natural world.