Sculptor on a Sculptor

I have known Alex Hohla for many years and have followed his artistic development with great interest. Although he is a physicist and highly aware of the limits of materials, he often pushes them to the brink of rupture, almost to the point where the stone could turn to dust, yet at the same time, he is laser-precise and manages to stop exactly at that fine line.

The result is an extremely smooth surface that simply invites the observer to touch it. This is something only few manage to achieve with such demanding material as stone.

The essence of his work can be found in the fact that when he sculpts a bird, he thinks about flight. His central sculptural approach is the removal of excess to present the essence as clearly as possible, something so simple, yet so difficult to achieve. For Hohla, the process of creation is pure joy. However, even such a process does not spare him from waking in the middle of the night thinking about the sculpture he is currently working on.

Alex works slowly and calmly, in a manner that reflects his personality. Integrity is a value that flows from his life into his work. By examining the themes of his cycles, we realize how situations from his life transform into his sculptural expression.

His latest piece, a female nude, is an excellent example of how removing layers can lead to perfection in form. That particular sculpture highlights femininity and the elegance of a flowing form, whose shape glides through convex-concave oppositions that form the basis of his sculptural vocabulary.

Hohla pays great attention to the pedestals, treating them as an integral part of the sculpture. They are neutral, simple and calm, often incorporating a mechanism that allows the sculpture to rotate around its own axis. This gives the artwork the ability to present itself to the viewer in the best possible way, allowing for uninterrupted enjoyment of the form’s beauty from every angle.
What particularly intrigues me about Alex's work is its precise aesthetic.

The sculptor knows exactly what he wants, he knows what is beautiful, and he insists on it time and time again. For him, the result is not the decisive element, because the result does not mark the end of the process, it fuels the next idea, which flows from the previous one. In this process, we witness the joy of life and the joy of creation, which he subtly yet directly transmits to the observer. The rhythm of his work and his life are intertwined, it is impossible to clearly separate them. His pieces are meditative records of time, meticulously crafted, and are fundamental building blocks of his entire life. As such, they deserve the attention and appreciation of both the broader and professional public.