MAGDALENA JETELOVÁ

Born on June 4, 1946, in Semily, Czechoslovakia. From 1965 to 1971, she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where she witnessed the Prague Spring as a student. From 1967 to 1968, she was a scholarship holder under Marino Marini at the Accademia di Brera in Milan. In 1971, she graduated from the academy in Prague. During the 1980s, Jetelová became internationally known for her large wooden sculptures. In 1983, her works were exhibited at the Tate Gallery in London and at Lothringerstrasse 13 in Munich. After emigrating in 1985, she had exhibitions in Bristol, Vienna, and at the 6th Biennale in Sydney. In 1987, she was represented at documenta 8 in Kassel, and in 1992, she was accepted into the Academy of Arts (Berlin).

Since her time in Prague, she has supplemented her spatial installations, which are often associated with American Land Art, with new media ranging from video and photography to laser beams, which she used in projects such as Iceland Project (1992) and Atlantic Wall (1995). Her works are exhibited in internationally renowned museums in Europe, North America, and Asia. She took up her first visiting professorship at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. From 1990, she taught sculpture at the Düsseldorf State Art Academy, focusing on international programs, before returning to Munich in 2004, where she taught as a professor until 2011. Her work has a strong philosophical and political dimension, addressing current issues such as migration, ecology, technology, and geopolitical challenges. Her works are part of the collections of the Centre Pompidou (Paris), the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Museum Ludwig (Cologne), and the MAK (Vienna). She lives in Bergheim-Thorr, Munich, and Prague.

Awards (Selection)
2025 Austrian Decoration of Honour for Science and Art
2023 Ladislav Sutnar Prize, Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art, University of West Bohemia
2015 Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Cross of Merit on Ribbon)
2013 Gratias Agit Award, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
2006 Lovis-Corinth-Prize, Künstlergilde Esslingen
1999 Jill Watson Award
1992 Member of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin
1991 Max-Lütze-Prize
1989 City of Darmstadt Art Prize
1988 Glockengasse Prize, Cologne
1985 Prize of the Philip Morris Dimension
1984 Scholarship of the City of Munich

Exhibitions (Selection)
2024 Abstrakte Horizonte (Abstract horizons), Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich
2023 Alle Macht der Imagination! (Power to the imagination!), Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau, Dresden
2020 Pacific Ring of Fire, Walter Storms Galerie, Munich
2017 Touch of Time, Nationalgalerie Prague
2015 Skulpture, Museum Würth, Künzelsau
2014 Creacio continua, Haus der Kunst, Munich
2013 Die Bildhauer (The Sculptors), Kunst Sammlung NRW, Düsseldorf
2011 Glasstress 2011, La Biennale di Venezia
2004 Gwangju Biennale, South Corea
1992 Domestication of the Pyramid, MAK Vienna
1987 documenta 8, Kassel
1985 Projects 5, Museum of Modern Art, New York
1983 New Art, Tate Gallery, London

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