'The Thief'

Erected along the facade of the Olomouc Museum of Art is a sculpture that draws crowds and certainly confuses locals.

Erected in 2017, the installation features a robber escaping the museum with a prized piece of art in his rucksack. It also features various mechanisms that allow the sculpture to move and shout down to visitors as he dangles. It was created as a message to how often we are unaware of our daily surroundings. 

The sculpture appears to be composed of metal, yet it’s actually comprised of patinated fiberglass. The installation was also Černý’s premiere. The robber has a famed sculpture of Karel Nepraš in his bag, a tribute to the late Czech sculptor. The statue moves along the ledge once every hour. The voice used for the statue is that of well-known Czech singer David Koller, who is Černý’s friend. 

Embodying the value of art, art fraud, and robberies, the work is provocative and designed to make people stop and ponder.