kurรกtor THE PRAGUE ART GUIDE
Text © 2018 Valérie Dvořáková, Ján Gajdušek, Štěpánka Veselská Photography © 2018 Teodorik Menšl Graphic design © 2018 Milan Nedvěd Published by © 2018 Euromedia Group, a. s. – Knižní klub within the Universum edition ISBN 978-80-242-6248-2 www.kurator.guide
Introduction
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PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS National Gallery Prague through Jiří Fajt’s eyes
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GALLERIES Large Private Galleries Established Gallerists Small Galleries with Strong Programmes Small Progressive Galleries School Galleries Photography Galleries Galleries Worth the Attention Where to Next?
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Interview Camille Hunt & Kacha Kastner
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ARCHITECTURE
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PUBLIC ART Statues and Monuments Street art Open Air Galleries Art in the Metro
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Interview Krištof Kintera
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Festivals
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Cafés and clubs
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Gifts and souvenirs
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Interview Michal Novotný
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14 Artists You Should Know 5 Architects Who Built Prague 10 Art Places to Visit Outside Prague 10 Paintings That Make Czechs Proud
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Interview Oldřich Uttendorfský
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Authors
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60 62 72 88 98 118 126 134
182 202 214
270 276 286
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Introduction Do you like art? At least a little? If your answer is a yes, then try exploring Prague with Kurátor! We had been waiting so long for a proper guide through Prague’s galleries that we decided to make our own. We’ve chosen the best fine art that has appeared over the centuries in the city of Prague, up until the present day. kurátor is your trusty companion not afraid to take you out of your comfort zone. It comes as a handson source of information while you’re roaming the streets of the capital, or just travelling to your destination. Kurátor will take you through large galleries, it will get you to a private viewing or vernissage, and will even tell you where to have a beer afterwards.
We wanted to combine a traditional guide with a book that won’t disappoint in any library. That’s why we have approached plenty of great people who gave Kurátor a soul. Are you in Prague right now? Try finding yourself on the map and visit a place that’s closest to you. Maybe you will come across a life-changing statue or an exhibition of paintings, which “could have been done by anyone”, right?
We would love to thank Oldřich Uttendorfský, the first to express the need for a “Michelin Guide” to Prague’s galleries. Kateřina Havrlant, the first one to believe in Kurátor and supported its creation. The Capital City of Prague, which awarded Kurátor with a grant that made his publication possible.
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Public Institutions
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There’s no lack of great art in Prague. Let’s start with what the city contributes to the Czech cultural scene. Public institutions are the everlasting stars and you will keep stumbling upon them at your every step. Moreover, the buildings that hide the art collections are oftentimes a work of art themselves.
PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
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THE NATIONAL GALLERY PRAGUE
The National Gallery Prague handles the most prominent and largest art collection in the Czech Republic. This large institution is spread throughout a series of historical buildings, be they high-profile touristy ones or the almost hidden ones. We even dare to say that most of Prague’s locals won’t know them all. The gallery administers not only pieces of work that cover all of the historical epochs of the Czech lands, but also plenty of foreign artists. Apart from that, the gallery has finally started to introduce some of the world’s most significant names of contemporary art to the Czech audience in the past couple of years. So, we could admire a huge inflatable ship by Ai Weiwei filled with fugitives. The Kinský Palace and the Convent of Saint Agnes hosted the paintings of Gerhard Richter, or we could visit large exhibitions of Katharina Grosse or Maria Lassnig. What are some of the National Gallery Prague’s best highlights? We asked the current General Director, Jiří Fajt, who picked eight of his most favourite works for you. (p. 22)
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THE NATIONAL GALLERY PRAGUE Trade Fair Palace This gem of Czech functionalist architecture spreads over 13,500 square metres and boasts a collection of over 2,000 pieces of modern and contemporary art. The most renowned names of Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, or Gustav Klimt compliment vast exhibits of Czech art, design, and architecture of the 20th and 21st century. Several spaces of the palace are dedicated to short-term exhibitions with broad themes. Both the Small and Large Halls provide an impressive space for international contemporary artists, while the freely accessible spaces on the ground floor introduce a relationship between art and video, and artwork by the youngest generations. A café and an art library pleasantly liven up the Trade Fair Palace on daily a basis. ART OF 19TH, 20TH, AND 21ST CENTURY
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ADDRESS
Dukelských hrdinů 47, Prague 7 OPENING HOURS
Tue–Sun 10–18 ADMISSION
0–350 CZK depending on combination and exhibit PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Trams 6, 17 (stop Veletržní palác/Trade Fair Palace) Trams 1, 6, 8, 12, 17, 25, 26 (stop Strossmayerovo náměstí) WEB
www.ngprague.cz
OLDŘICH UTTENDORFSKÝ AND KRIŠTOF KINTERA’S TIP
PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
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PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
12–13
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THE NATIONAL GALLERY PRAGUE Sternberg Palace All three floors of this beautiful palace from the end of the 17th century are filled with works by top European artists, starting in Classical antiquity until the end of the 18th century. And when we say top, we are not exaggerating. You can admire the works by El Greco, Anthonis van Dyck, Rembrandt van Rijn, Lucas Cranach, or Agnolo Bronzino. Among the most important works of art present at the Sternberg Palace are Albrecht Dürer’s Feast of the Rosary, and two altar paintings by Peter Paul Rubens from the nearby St Thomas’ Church. Although the Sternberg Palace is one of the most opulent palaces of the High Baroque period, you will probably spend some time looking for the entrance, hidden in a little side-street next to the Archbishop’s Palace. You should not hesitate to visit the palace. The current exposition of collections closes in April 2019, so that the whole palace can go through an extensive restoration. ADDRESS
EUROPEAN FINE ART FROM CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY TO BAROQUE
Hradčanské nám. 15, Prague 1 OPENING HOURS
Tue–Sun 10–18 ADMISSION
0–350 CZK depending on combination and exhibit PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Trams 22, 23 (stop Pražský hrad/Prague Castle) WEB
www.ngprague.cz
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National Gallery Prague through Jiří Fajt’s eyes
Similarly to foreign countries, the National Gallery Prague has an undoubtedly unique position among public galleries and museums. Unlike other similar institutions based abroad the Czech one bears one distinctive feature: its collections and exhibitions are spread out within historical buildings across Prague, and outside the city. To help us (and you of course) familiarise ourselves with this complex system of palaces and monasteries, we’ve asked none other than its General Director. Jiří Fajt took upon the role of General Director of the National Gallery Prague in 2014 and since then he has been working on gradually reviving the previously slumbering institution. A lot of things happened during those four years: He helped create a new tradition of Grand Openings that majestically launch new exhibitions at the Trade Fair Palace (Veletržní palác) twice a year; prestigious Studio Najbrt won the recent contest for the new visual identity of the gallery; and the gallery started planning an ambitious architectonic contest that should take place in the near future. In the meantime, Jiří Fajt is trying to find a way of turning the seemingly split-up collections into an advantage, and also keeps fighting the financing of purchases of contemporary and modern art, so that the gallery can perform its role and keep on introducing contemporary art.
Národní galerie očima Jiřího Fajta
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NATIONAL GALLERY PRAGUE THROUGH JIŘÍ FAJT’S EYES
The National Gallery Prague was quite lucky in the past. After World War I, it was Vincenc Kramář who became the head of the gallery. Kramář was a collector and connoisseur of art whose passion lay in dynamic world trends, which were only evolving under huge scepticism from the general and professional public. But Vincent Kramář followed his intuition and while he was buying up essential Medieval art, he himself started collecting paintings and sculptures of young painters who were willing to sell him their work for favourable prices. Namely, cubists Emil Filla or Otto Gutfreund in the Czech Republic, and Picasso, Braque, or Derrain in Paris. So, without Mr Kramář, present-day expositions would not be what they are today. His personal collections later became the vital core of today’s National Gallery Prague, and they put the gallery on the map of significant European institutions. We gave Jiří Fajt the hard task of compiling eight of his personal favourites from the treasures kept in the National Gallery’s expositions and depository. And also to tell us why he chose them.
1. Master Theodoric (active 1355–1367): St. Catherine, 1364–1365 3 Convent of St Agnes
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“After being crowned the Holy Roman Emperor in 1355, Charles IV reached the peak of his political career and became the sovereign of a large part of the European continent. His imperial majesty, as well as immense power, were to be remembered forever in the form of vast artworks, in which he engaged himself, while he also spent a lot of resources on their realisation. Apart from in Prague, a spectacular imperial residence with a palace complex and a cathedral over the Vltava river, he paid a lot of his attention to Karlštejn Castle set in the middle of royal forests near Prague, where he managed to build a ‘strongroom’ for the most precious collection of saintly relics, the royal treasure including the Imperial Regalia. He moved precious memorabilia of Jesus Christ’s last days and relics of the saints of the empire set in richly decorated golden feretories in the Chapel of the Holy Cross situated in the Great tower. He commissioned his official court painter, Master Theodoric, with the chapel’s decoration. Master Theodoric covered the walls of the sanctuary not with, at the time quite common, wall paintings, but with a ‘carpet’ of 130 panel paintings. This celestial army was supposed to protect the most valuable imperial sacraments, while also taking care of the salvation of Karlštejn’s Jiří Fajt focuses on Middle master’s soul, the soul of Ages and medieval art as Roman Emperor and Czech a historian. We were not king, Charles IV. Among surprised that he chose Master Theodoric for the first place.
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NATIONAL GALLERY PRAGUE THROUGH JIŘÍ FAJT’S EYES
those who had a prominent position within Karlštejn’s saints were Charles IV’s personal patrons. St. Catherine was one of them. On her name day in the year of 1332, the young successor to the throne fought his first winning battle near the town of San Felice in northern Italy, and he was knighted afterwards. Karlštejn became the largest commission of paintings in Europe of the 14th century.” 2. Monogrammist IP (active in the first three decades of the 16th century): Reredos from Zlíchov (also Epitaphaltar aus Zlíchov) / Epitaph Altarpiece of Štěpán Schlick around 1526 3 Convent of St Agnes “The non-polychrome wood-carvings come from the hand of court sculptor of Passau bishops, who signed his masterpieces as Monogrammist IP. He was one of the biggest and most essential artists of his age, as documented by the vast circle of his prominent customers: including Zdeněk Lev of Rožmitál, who held the highest offices in the Kingdom of Bohemia during the reign of the Jagiellonian dynasty at the beginning of the 16th century; Štěpán Schlick, the founder of the mining town of Jáchymov in the Ore Mountains (Krušné hory in Czech), which became the second largest city in Bohemia Jiří Fajt’s favourite is now at that time due to its rich going to be your trump deposits of gold and silver. card during a conversation about the sculptures of the 16th century!
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Public art
Statues and Monuments
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It took some time, but even the public space in the Czech Republic became an important topic for a society-wide discussion. And so, everyone, starting with the citizens, municipal representatives, and artists, started noticing what they are actually seeing around them while they’re walking around the city. It turns out that they, beside other things, walk around numerous monuments, memorials (yes, there is a difference), and statues, some of which even you should notice!
PUBLIC ART
184–185
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STATUES AND MONUMENTS Krištof Kintera Of One’s Own Volition Krištof Kintera, one of the most distinctive Czech contemporary artists, created an outdoor object back in 2011. The lamp patiently stands under the Nusle Bridge, which has silently watched hundreds of people committing suicide by jumping from it. The lamp is bent in a way that it lights up the ‘way down’. What the lamp lacks because of its trivial execution, it gains with its strong symbolism. Kintera tried to make neither a memorial nor a monument, his aim was to create a ‘Memento Mori’, a reflection of mortality. Thanks to his ability to avoid pathos, he created something that can be regarded as a model for post-Modernist memorials. ADDRESS
Folimanka park, Prague 1
Bike to Heaven His second memorial situated at a busy crossroads proves that Kintera is quite good at crafting memorials. The Bike to Heaven sculpture is dedicated to Jan Bouchal, an avid promoter of urban cycling, who passed away in 2006 due to an accident right there at the crossroads. Kintera yet again used the casualness of Prague’s street lighting creating a branched lamp, on top of which he attached a bicycle that spins around like a wind vane. The artist reflected on a similar memorial created by Jan Bouchal’s friends in the same spot; a white bicycle attached to the lamp after the accident. 70
ADDRESS
Crossroads of nábř. Kpt. Jaroše and Dukelských hrdinů, Prague 7
PUBLIC ART
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STATUES AND MONUMENTS
Jiří Novák’s Distances Since the end of 1950s, a Czechoslovakian law has been in operation enforcing that around 4 % of the budget of each public building be invested into art decorations. In over 40 years of the law being in effect, thousands of sculptures, mosaics, objects and other art works of various quality emerged. Also, almost all of Prague’s housing estates (the ones with the large blocks of flats) were built around that time, so you can find a lot of these pieces of art in them. There is one notable sculptural work that is worth visiting at the Novodvorská housing estate. A kinetic piece of plastic art inspired by the movement and dynamics of wind is the work of sculptor Jíří Novák and it is characteristically called Distances.
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ADDRESS
Novodvorská housing estate, Prague 4
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Public art
Art in the Metro
Prague Metro was built based on the Soviet example. Similarly to the Moscow underground, a strong emphasis was put to the artistic side of individual stops. The Metro opened in 1974 and has seen the completion of three lines with 61 stations up to this day. Inside, you can meet various sculptures, mosaics and works of plastic art from the communist era, but also contemporary street art commissioned by the Prague Public Transport Company. Older works are unfortunately in a dismal state and their quality varies a lot. The following trio is an example of the best art pieces.
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PUBLIC ART
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ART IN THE METRO Karlovo náměstí The Karlovo náměstí stop (or Charles Square) was built in 1985 and has unknowingly become one of the best exhibitions of Czech glass. That’s due to the fact that the main walls are covered with spectacular glass blocks, which are based on the design by a major Czech glass artist, František Vízner. And that’s not all—you can find two galleries, Nika and Mimochodem, right below the surface inside the Metro’s halls. Nika Gallery When you get off the Metro towards Palackého náměstí, you will walk around an oval niche (or nika in Czech)—and that’s where the gallery takes its name from. It’s a former ad space which was taken over by the Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design in Prague (or UMPRUM). This unusual gallery changes its installations every month and is dedicated to presenting student works, either older ones or ones specifically tailored to Nika’s niche needs. Galerie Mimochodem Art won’t elude you even when you decide to leave the station towards the exit to Zítkovy sady. This exhibition concept focuses on paintings by young generations, while neatly working the momentum of the passageway, where the passers-by are always in a hurry and are not ready to stop to perceive art. All three of the gallery’s curators, namely Štěpánka Drchalová, Veronika Rollová and Tereza Vernerová Volná, are graduates of UMPRUM and they present a monumental project at the gallery four times a year.