Ondrej Mares (11 February 1949 – 19 March 2008) was an Australian artist and furniture designer who lived in

Macclesfield, South Australia Macclesfield is a small town on the upper reaches of the River Angas in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. In the , Macclesfield had a population of 832 while the 2016 Census showed an increase to 958. Macclesfield is in the Dist ...

. His work has been exhibited in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. Mares is most famous for his

Kachina A kachina (; also katchina, katcina, or katsina; Hopi: ''katsina'' , plural ''katsinim'' ) is a spirit being in the religious beliefs of the Pueblo peoples, Native American cultures located in the south-western part of the United States. In th ...

pieces. In 2002, he was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, which had the effect of shifting his focus from larger pieces to smaller more compact pieces. Also, clues to his sickness manifested in later works, such as his Kachina titled 'Stem Cells'. Mares' work has been described as "jamming as much experience, humour and detail into each of his arte povera pieces, usually about high, as is aesthetically possible."Dutkiewicz, Adam 'Silent fury and humour', The Adelaide Advertiser August 2004.

Early life

Mares started his working life as a toolmaker in

, and was exceptionally skilled in this area, reaching the rank of Toolmaker First Class prior to the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...

of 1968. Mares recalled going to work one morning during this time to find several tanks parked outside the factory at which he worked. It was during this time that Mares' tools were stolen, leaving him with a debt to the state that had to be paid off. Mares and another toolmaker worked nights until the debt was paid, and he then decided to leave

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and emigrate.

In Australia

Once in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Mares worked in several different locations, including Darwin and Broome. Mares worked in his own workshop at Macclesfield, South Australia producing furniture and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

from 1975 onwards. In 1979, Mares completed a Diploma in Art and Craft in South Australia. He was a skilled carpenter, and in addition to building his house in Macclesfield he also built a house in Goolwa. During this time through personal travels and experiences, Mares developed his own unique style of work, which was manifested in several furniture designs and some sculptures. His rate of work was prolific, and his daughter recalled that he was always working in his workshop from early morning to dusk.

Study travels

Mares travelled extensively early in his career, and the inspiration from his travels is evident in his styles of work. Between 1973 and 1974, Mares did a formative study trip through Europe and Asia, including

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

(

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Including the Komodo Islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the land area is 15,530.58 km2, and th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. In 1990, Mares traveled to Europe to undertake a study of furniture design in

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Mares travelled back to Prague in 2004 and in 2007.

Solo exhibitions

During his life, Mares exhibited a total of 17 times between 1984 and 2006. In addition to this, Mares' work was exhibited after he lost his battle to

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

in March 2008.

Group exhibitions

In addition to his solo exhibitions, Mares' work was exhibited as part of over 25 group exhibitions both in South Australia and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Image:Ondrej Mares Kachina.jpg, ''Untitled'', by Ondrej Mares photographed at his gallery in Macclesfield, South Australia circa 2000. Image:067 OM Caterpillar Gum 250.jpg, ''Caterpillar'', by Ondrej Mares on exhibition at Stephen Sinclair gallery 100 Halifax Street, Adelaide on 11 February 2009. Image:054 OM Table gum 450.jpg, Gum Table by Ondrej Mares on exhibition at Stephen Sinclair gallery 100 Halifax Street, Adelaide on 11 February 2009. Image:OM Cupboards.jpg, Two Wooden Cupboards by Ondrej Mares featuring metal paneling made from olive tins, cupboards constructed around 1996–1999. Image:OM Money Launders 1999.jpg, Two Kachinas by Ondrej Mares Titled ''Money Launders'', 1999. Image:OM Kachina Amazonia.jpg, Kachina titled ''Amazonia'' by Ondrej Mares on exhibition at Stephen Sinclair Gallery, February 2009.

Final years

Despite being diagnosed with cancer in 2002, Mares continued to produce a large amount of sculptures, tables and Kachinas. A large amount of his work remains unseen by the public. Ondrej Mares died in hospital on 19 March 2008. He was cremated shortly after his death.

Featuring publications

*Masters of Their Craft, Dr Noris Ioannou, 1997 *Monument Magazine Number 16, 1997 *Modern Australian Furniture, M. Bofle and P. Landman 1994

References

External links

Ondrej Mares at BMG Art, AdelaideOndrej Mares at Stephen Sinclair Gallery, Adelaide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mares, Ondrej 1949 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Australian sculptors Australian contemporary artists Czech artists 21st-century Australian sculptors