Professor Marius Kotrba has died

With deep sorrow and sadness, we announce to all teachers, students, non-academic staff, friends, and loved ones that on May 17, 2011, we were suddenly left by

Professor Marius Kotrba, academic sculptor,

head of the sculpture department at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ostrava.

In this painful moment, in which we find ourselves, surprised and devastated by the sudden departure of Professor Marius Kotrba, we realize that an outstanding artist, sculptor, painter, university educator, and dear colleague is leaving us, who was at the birth of artistic university studies at the University of Ostrava. He fundamentally co-created the creative climate and participated in the artistic and organizational discourse of the Department of Fine Arts and later the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ostrava. He built a top-notch university workspace – a sculpture studio and led numerous students to graduation and a university degree, who today hold significant positions in the artistic community of the Czech Republic.
The last farewell will take place on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, at 3:00 PM at the Evangelical Church in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm.

Marius Kotrba was born on September 30, 1959, in Čeladná. From 1974 to 1978, he studied at the secondary school of applied arts, specializing in stone sculpture in Uherské Hradiště. From 1981 to 1987, he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, specializing in monumental sculpture (prof. Stanislav Hanzík). From 1990 to 1993, he worked as an assistant professor at the AVU Prague under Professor Hugo Demartini. In 1993, he taught at the Minerva Academy in Groningen, Netherlands.
In later years, he worked at the Department of Fine Arts of the Faculty of Education at the University of Ostrava, where he was head of the sculpture program from 1997. Initially at the same-named department and later he became the head of the sculpture department at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ostrava.
Since 1997, he has held numerous solo exhibitions and has also co-participated in various joint exhibitions. Since 1995, he has realized numerous installations and works in public spaces not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad. His participation in symposiums and creative workshops both domestically and abroad is equally significant.
Since his university studies, Marius Kotrba has been an irreplaceable and exceptional figure in Czech sculpture. His works are represented in numerous public and private collections both at home and abroad.