Suricata
ABOUT THE PRODUCT
design: Antonin Tomášek
material: porcelain
dimensions: 11,5 x 16 x 18 cm
Limited edition of small porcelain figurines with animal motif.
Sociable, sophisticated, playful and always alert, it's all Suricata! Qubus also occasionally invites other artists and designers to collaborate with them to create original limited edition collections. It is no coincidence that the fragile animal statuette was designed for Qubus by Antonín Tomášek in 2006.
The small decorative sculpture had two variants in the first collection, a pure white glaze or a variant with a bright green stripe on the base. In 2024, Surikata celebrates its 18th birthday, and to mark the occasion, a limited collector's edition of 18 pieces with two variants of the base colour banding: sky blue and / or pink.
"I originally went to the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow to see the painting "They Didn't Expect" by Russian realist painter Ilya Yefimovich Repin. But I was unexpectedly ambushed by the "Bears in the Pine Grove" painting by Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin hanging nearby. (Note also the title "Morning in the Pine Forest" ) A simple forest motif, a mother bear with three cubs. Two are playing on the log of a fallen pine tree and one, with his back turned, is intently watching something inside the painting. He is watching the rising morning mist. He stands, looking both intrigued and apprehensive. I was magnetized by the fog, inspired by the subtle indeterminate tension. Somewhere in there I came to the idea of an observer - a meerkat..." comments designer Antonín Tomášek on the source of inspiration.
Surikat porcelain statuettes for Qubus are produced by the author personally in his workshop in Prague.
About the designer
Antonín Tomášek (*1978, Ostrov) is a Czech designer of porcelain and ceramics, who currently heads the ceramic design studio at the Faculty of Art and Design, UJEP in Ústí nad Labem. A graduate of UMPRUM, he is one of the leading Czech artists and is known for his innovative ideas and perceptive approach to traditional craft. He co-founded the brand Whitefruits and, in addition to Qubus, he also collaborates with the design publishing house Tablo. Tomášek is an innovative designer who combines tradition with modern technology and design trends. The work of Antonín Tomášek can be found in the collections of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, the Museum of the Capital City of Prague, the Moravian Gallery in Brno, as well as in private collections. Antonín Tomášek is the author of both unique pieces and mass-produced collections, which are appreciated not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad.
ABOUT THE BRAND
The Qubus brand was founded in 2002 by Jakub Berdych Karpelis together with Maxim Velčovský and in the same year they opened the eponymous brick-and-mortar design shop in Prague's Old Town as the first ever design shop in the Czech Republic. The main idea and motivation of Qubus is to design, produce and present Czech contemporary and conceptual design with wit and unconventionality. A number of now iconic design products, collections and works have been created under the Qubus brand and the Qubus brand, the first on the market at the time, has become one of the most popular design studios in the Czech Republic in its 20 years of operation. Qubus products are characterized by their humour and search for new meanings and contexts.
Qubus designers most often work with traditional Czech materials - glass or porcelain, and their hallmark is a humorous play with morphology and function. Central European sarcasm meets commentary on the world around us in Qubus products. They respond to lifestyles, mirror prejudices and reflect cultural and social themes and trends.
Among the products in the Qubus portfolio, we find luxury and everyday pieces that shape taste and push its boundaries. In addition to conceptual and product design, the studio also executes interior design, architecture and free art projects by Jakub Berdych Karpelis and other artists it invites to collaborate.
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