Biography
Miroslav Hric is a Slovakian sculptor by profession, specializing in the preparation of low relief / bass relief, mainly for the creation of coins and medals.
The devotion to perfecting this old thousand-year-old craft, comes from his family background. Its roots are related to the arrival of his ancestors, who as specialists, were invited to innovations related to the operation of the Kremnica Mint/Slovakia/ in the 18th century. The modern history of family work, a direct influence, came from his grandfather, who was a metal engraver and coin die maker and later his father, who was a metal caster and artistic medallist. It was therefore natural that in a family with an artistic focus, a grain of talent would also pass on to him and his brother.
After graduating from the Secondary School of Applied Arts in Kremnica, Miroslav studied sculpture at the Academy in Bratislava and Porto, which lent to later medallic work with a solid foundation.
With the last 19 years dedicated professionally to this field, Miroslav has experienced many successes and now describes his project workflow as such:
“At the beginning of each coin is a graphic design. It determines the composition and main motifs of the work. Then comes the actual work on the models – the implementation phase. Here, the basic surfaces and relationships in the relief are created. This is followed by casting into a plaster model – where the details and outlines of the depicted objects are completed. The final phase is digital structures and vectors, which add precision and beauty of detail to the design. Further adjustments are already taken over by experts at the mint. You could say that every coin passes through the hands of many experts (technologists, product managers, marketers) before it ever sees the light of day.”
So every coin not only has two sides, but also many fathers and mothers.
Some of Miroslav’s favorite numismatic topics include a four-part series Mythical Creatures, the three-part series Alchemists and the biblically themed Garden of Eden.
“When I am creating a coin design, I always place great emphasis not only on the technical sculptural processing of the relief, which must be flawless, but also on the correct understanding of the theme itself. Working on an individual design can take several weeks and even months if I encounter a complicated theme. Medal making is always a bit of work on the border between art, technology and, naturally, craft. The immense beauty of the creations of the old masters is a great inspiration not only for me but should also be for our entire industry.”
Work Samples
Exhibitions
2001 Ţiar nad Hronom town gallery
2002 Povaţská galéria umenia, Ţilina
2003 Badfishau A, Galéria Médium Bratislava SK, Sopron HU
2004 Ţilina town gallery
2006 Belas artes gallery, Portugal
2006 Café Exit Bratislava
2006 Gallery FRAME 2007 House of Arts, Bratislava
2007 Bennial of small sculpture, Pezinok 2007 S.O.S.- Gallery Medium, Bratislava
2007 Mirror as a tool of illusion, Nitrianska Galéria
2008 Secret of beauty, Šternberk CZ 2008 Ferona – Iron design, Nitra
2010 Chain reaction – (Galéria Cypriána Majerníka), Bratislava 2015 Memorial competition – Family of Tomislav Kolakovič, Bratislava
Contact Info
https://www.instagram.com/coin.and.medal.artist/
https://www.facebook.com/Miroslav.Hric.artist
https://www.linkedin.com/in/miroslav-hric-7686b2128/
