Birth 2006

Lubo Kristek’s ‘Birth’ is a sculpture of a tree, painted in blue and white, with an apple and a figure nearby. I can almost feel the artist painting this work, adding layers, shifting colors, making it a process of discovery. Kristek’s playful marks and colors evoke a sense of joy, but there’s also something deeper going on here. I imagine him thinking about birth, not just as a beginning, but as an ongoing process of becoming. As I look at the sculpture, I see a reference to the art of his time, but also to a more distant past. The sculpture’s color and form remind me of folk art traditions but also of the ways artists like to question and push against traditions. I like to think about how artists are always in conversation with each other across time, borrowing, stealing, and transforming ideas. It’s like a big, messy family reunion where everyone is trying to one-up each other.