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The Anatomy of a Leap into the Void | The Year 1968 and Art in Czechoslovakia

20 Czerwiec - 16 Wrzesień 2018, Start and end dates


The exhibition in the Gallery of West Bohemia in Pilsen focuses on the period from 1966 to 1973, when it was evident that domestic art was becoming more emancipated and confidently involved in international structures on the art scene. It reacts to or foresees every important theme and approach – new geometry, new figuration, conceptual art, and art of action.

Many artworks were created as a direct response to the occupation, although more arose throughout the second half of 1968 and 1969, reacting to the absurdity of the occupation and the shock and disillusion, even in abstract or symbolic form. This is why such a diverse body of work is presented, connected by the year of its creation and a feeling of paused time, a frozen moment. The form is extremely contemporary, including the essence of the 1960s, but the content changes from minute to minute. Hands by Eva Kmentová or Jozef Jankovič, Abandoned Pedestal or Silent Landscape by Jiří Kolář, Portrait of Franz Kafka by Václav Hejna; these are all very personal and intense reflections on the incomprehensibility and unacceptability of the event.

The exhibition closes with artworks created on the cusp of normalization – one group displaying sadness and disillusion, while the other is a foundation for the art of the 1970s – alluding to the emigration wave and the concepts and performances taking place away from official life.

Works by following artists will be presented at the exhibition: 
Jiří Kolář, Jitka Válová and Květa Válová, Rudolf Volráb, Václav BoštíkVěra Janoušková, Jiří Načeradský,Eduard Ovčáček, Jan Zrzavý, František Janoušek, Alena Koenigsmarková,Stanislav BukovskýStanislav Kolíbal, Eva Kmentová, Ivan Steiger, Vladimír Jiránek and others; documentary films and photographs.

The exhibition is complemented by a number of accompanying programs – historical films, music, meetings with witnesses, etc.
 
The exhibition is held under the auspices of
Ilja Šmíd, the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic;
Josef Bernard, the President of the Pilsen Region;
and Martin Zrzavecký, the Mayor of the City of Pilsen.

Exhibition Hall Masné krámy
Author: Helena Musilová
Curator: Marcela Štýbrová

Muzeum umění Olomouc 2011-2024