The Metatron Star by Jan Dostál is located just on the edge of the shore of Sokolský ostrov, close to the river Malše. The sculpture consists of an intricate, geometric structure composed of multiple interconnected polyhedral units. The primary form repeated throughout the sculpture is the regular dodecahedron – a twelve-faced polyhedron, with each face being a regular pentagon. These dodecahedra are assembled in a cluster formation, emerging outward in multiple directions from a central core. The total composition creates a three-dimensional bouquet-like mass, with individual dodecahedra branches branching outward symmetrically. The dominant principle in the composition of this sculpture is the repetition of identical elements. In truth, the peripheral elements are incomplete; they are not really dodecagons, but only half or a quarter of their sides, but arranged in a rigour of regularity. Thanks to this, the sculpture seems to be in the process of „unfolding“ in space.
The arrangement of dodecagons is inscribed in a form in cross-section similar to an isosceles triangle. The height is approximately 2 meters. The structure is narrow at the base, widening upwards. It is widest at the upper edge. It reaches a width of 2 meters there.
Each dodecahedron is hollow, framed by black metal edges that define the boundaries of the pentagonal faces. The surfaces of these faces are filled with fine, web-like metal latticework, which crisscrosses with an unusually precise regularity. The pentagon frames are several centimetres thick. And the lines inside the polygon are extremely thin, but multiplied. That forms dense, tangled, linear patterns. The lattice gives a sense of visual texture and depth to each unit, with some areas appearing denser and more opaque due to the accumulation of lines, while others allow more visibility through to the sculpture.
Each of the pentagons in the sculpture conceals a representation known from the Kabbalah and so-called Sacred Geometry: the Metatron Cube. This is the so-called star of Metatron. It is a complex structure based on regularly arranged circles and connecting lines. It is supposed to contain all possible geometric shapes. The construction is extremely rigorous, symmetrical and repeatable. In the centre, there is a circle. It is surrounded by six identical circles. Each of the 6 circles touches two others and the circle in the centre. This structure is captured by another composition of 6 circles, but already moved away from each other. Each of the circles from the outermost strip touches only 1 circle from the middle strip. The outer layer of circles is inscribed in a regular hexagon. In this way, 6 rows of 3 circles were obtained, which spread out radially. All circles were connected by straight lines. The lines start in the geometric centres of the circles. In this way, a dense grid of lines is created, like a prism. The eye of the viewer will read shapes between the lines: regular triangles, equilateral triangles, trapezoids, pentagons, etc., which create an almost mystical phrase.
So the Metatron Star is a way of presenting that mesmerising form of geometry in three dimensions and – which is probably more important – in our physical world.
The object is based on the symbol of the Metatron’s Cube. It is a two-dimensional projection of a structure formed by connecting all the centers of circles to each other. Metatron’s Cube contains the fundamental pattern of Creation and is a science in itself.