1993
Wood, Shingles, MetalSun Chariot
Andrej RudavskySun Chariot is one of Andrej Rudavský’s monumental works from the 1990s, a period in which he returned to archetypal symbols and mythological imagery. Rather than depicting a chariot realistically, the work functions as a symbol of movement, energy, and light. It has the character of a machine, an archaic object, or even a “chapel set in motion.” The work was originally constructed from a combination of wood and metal.
Context
After the work was relocated, its shingle-covered section gradually deteriorated, leaving only the metal side segments. Today, the object survives only in fragments that document its original construction. This fate is itself symbolic: like many of Rudavský’s works, Sun Chariot carries an awareness of time, transformation, and the impermanence of material.
The work draws on the archetype of the sun chariot — a motif associated with the movement of the sun and the cyclical passage of time. It is not, however, an illustration of any specific myth, but rather a universal image of light and energy. In a text by M. Kvasnička, the work is described as potentially evoking the solar myth, Noah’s Ark, or the Trojan Horse — objects that function simultaneously as means of transport and as symbols of passage, salvation, or fate.
The central wheel supports a broad mass resembling a shingle-covered bell tower. Here, the solar principle is combined with the motif of folk architecture characteristic of Rudavský’s work. The object takes on the quality of a cult symbol — both mechanical and symbolic at the same time.
Inspiration and Concept
Shingles in Other Works
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